


Elpis

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Cannibalism, Cover Art, Depression, Friendship, Gen, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform, Hope, Hopeful Ending, I Don't Even Know, Isolation, Kidnapping, Legends, No Sex, Pomegranates, Shadows - Freeform, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-27
Updated: 2013-09-06
Packaged: 2017-12-20 11:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elpis- Greek word for Hope, which was trapped in the darkness at the bottom of Pandora’s Box. </p><p>Based off of <a href="http://pooka-curse.tumblr.com/post/44145718937/hed-come-out-of-the-tunnel-and-followed-his-nose">this picture of Dark!Bunnymund</a> by the always fabulous Pooka-Curse. </p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darkness Falls

**Author's Note:**

> Writing Soundtrack:  
> Bunny: '[If I Had A Heart](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTnknFhp4Is)' by Fever Ray and '[Breezeblocks](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRZMC13v5LI)' by Alt J (∆)  
> Jack: '[Beautiful](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qcm6QB1KwY)' by Joydrop and '[Touch Me I’m Going to Scream pt 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5cJr7i3JP8)' by My Morning Jacket
> 
> Thanks to Pooka-Curse for spawning this, EastoftheMoon for the writing encouragement, Lady Nero, Morte, and Viper for the last minute flailing betas, and Valantine Wolf for the in-document corrections.

* * *

__

Elips - Greek word for Hope, which was trapped in the darkness at the bottom of Pandora’s Box when the lid closed after the evils of the world had escaped. 

* * *

 

"Bunny?" Jack's voice was half a groan, half question as he lifted his head up off the ground. He'd been trying to dodge one of Pitch's arrows, then suddenly he'd been grabbed, a strong narrow arm around his waist and nearly sending his staff flying out of his hands. He'd hit his head as they landed, but it was better than being struck by one of Pitch's arrows. 

He got a snarl in return, a dark growl instead of the usual snark about not watching his back. It wasn't something he usually had to worry about, he knew Bunny had his back, just like he had Bunny's. 

Jack glanced up, freezing in horror as he stared, at the dark fur caging him in. Bunny's warm grey fur changed before his eyes, the black stripes barely visible against the shifting charcoal grey fur, as if Bunny was absorbing the darkness. 

Bunny's name froze on Jack's lips as he stared up at his dear friend's face, the stark white of his teeth like a knife blade against the black, pale eyes glaring in the direction that Pitch's arrow had come from. 

Pitch laughed, his mocking voice echoing across the night sky. "Oh, this is Fantastic!" Pitch chortled. "I meant to make Frost dance as my minion, but this is even better! The Bunny Rabbit!" 

He was peripherally aware of the other Guardians, their horror even as they continued to fight against Pitch's shadows. 

Pitch clapped his thigh, whistling like one would for a pet. "Come here boy!" He playfully called. "Heel at Daddy's feet!" 

The deep growl that echoed in Bunny's chest intensified from a muted rumble to a flat out snarl, one that made even Pitch stop and blink. Bunny released Jack, rising up to his hind-legs, brushing dark shadows from his fur as if they were dust. "Bunny?" Jack whispered, a chill going down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. 

"Here's the thing, mate." Bunny's voice was darker, a harsh rasp to it as he started walking towards Pitch. "I've been around a long time. Fightin' the darkness longer than before _General Kozmotis Pitchiner_ was even a speck in the Golden Era's eye." 

Pitch glanced around, eyes round in panic as if realising that there was something wrong. "I command you to sit!" Pitch snapped, raising an admonishing finger towards Bunny. "Stop! Roll over!" 

"And ya know what they say about those who gaze inta the abyss-" Bunny continued as Pitch started to back up as Bunny got closer, the giant Pooka nearly invisible against the swirl of shadows around Pitch. 

"Bunny!" Jack called, struggling to his feet. The world swirled around him like he was standing on the deck of a boat in a storm and he propped himself upright against his staff. 

"I COMMAND YOU TO- _erk_." Pitch's voice was cut off as Bunny wrapped one huge paw around Pitch's neck and lifted him up with one hand. Jack could see Pitch's feet dangling off the ground, kicking slightly for the ground that wasn't there. 

"-The abyss gazes back." Bunny said, and there was a grim sort of humour to his tone as he moved his head closer to the Nightmare King. 

Pitch started screaming. 

"BUNNY!" Jack shouted, staggering forward. He couldn't see what Bunny was doing to Pitch, the black on black obscured everything, but it sounded like Pitch was being killed. 

Or eaten. 

Pitch's screaming abruptly cut off, the shadows freezing around them, no longer attacking. Just hovering... waiting. The fighting stopped, leaving the muted sound of ripping flesh and chewing echoing quietly in the air. 

"Bunny?" Jack whispered, trying to get closer to his friend. " _Bunny?!_ " He repeated, seeing Pitch jerk slightly in Bunny's grasp, a glimpse of gaping black against dark grey.

Hands grabbed Jack before he could get a better view and pulled him away, the Guardians fleeing the battleground as Bunny's name rang from Jack's lips.

* * *

The first year without Easter wasn't terribly bad. Kids were disappointed, and stories circulated of when this had happened, in their Great-Grandparent's time. Food was a little scarce, plants weren't growing the same way they had been previously, but there was enough to go around. 

The second year, things began to get tough. Winter lasted longer, then Summer came in, temperatures jumping in a matter of days without the gentle nurturing period. Flooding was bad, snow that had previously gradually disappeared over weeks, avalanche or melted into torrents in a matter of hours. 

Not only did plants not grow, but the birthrate dropped. Plants and animals that had been fertile before still were, but new life refused to grow. 

Things steadily declined the third and fourth year. 

The Guardians did what they could for the children. But Wonder, Dreams, Fun, and Memories did not bring food for hungry bellies. Toothiana grew quiet as the memories grew less happy, Sandy crafted larger dreams so the children would sleep longer. 

Jack took groups into the forest, finding things he knew were good to eat, teaching children the things he had learned while he had still been alive about survival skills. Even in Winter, there was a little bit of food to be found. 

The fifth year is when Jack started to find the Sleepers. The ones who would go out into the snow to sleep and never wake up. Both young and old. 

The first several, he'd tried to wake them up, thinking maybe they were just sleeping. He managed to wake one child up, bringing them back home, only to find them a few weeks later, covered in snow. 

He didn't tell the others about them, but he got the feeling they knew anyway. Jack found a few Sleepers with little hints of gold Dreamsand in their hair, small smiles on their faces. North's Naughty and Nice lists kept shrinking, fewer children replacing the ones that either grew up or disappeared. 

And Toothiana's fairies could actually take breaks. 

That was also the year that Jack started to get the feeling he was being watched. There was nothing he could ever see, but the feeling persisted. 

It wasn't until months after the feeling first started when Sandy lashed out at shadow that shouldn't have been behind Jack that he discovered who it was. 

And then things got even worse, the new King of Fear hunting the Guardians.

* * *

"Those-" Bunny said, pointing to the first plants Jack had seen sprout put the earth since Pitch's disappearance. "-Are Agave. Good for making Tequila and a delightful form of execution." 

Jack, buried chest-deep in the earth, stared in horror at Tooth and North, who were bound spread-eagle above the long leafed cacti. Next to them, Sandy was trapped inside of some sort of tree, his Dreamsand rattling around in it. Tooth's fairies were off to the side, trapped in something that looked like a cross between a Venus Flytrap and a tentacle monster, only with more teeth. 

Every time two or more of the Guardians had gathered since Sandy had uncovered Bunny, it seemed like the now dark Pooka would attack. This had driven them to paranoia, until they realised that it wasn't just any two of the Guardians, it was only when Jack met with one of the others, Bunny arriving to drive them away from the Guardian of Fun. 

They'd attempted to use it to set up a trap, using Jack as bait, but it had backfired on them. Just because nothing was currently growing didn’t mean that it _couldn’t_. 

Bunny was idly testing the edge of of a glinting boomerang, not even looking at his captives as he talked, as if delivering an interesting botany lesson in a dry tone. "The locals where this grew would bind their victims across the top of a plant about to bloom, pee on the Agave and leave. The stalk, or _quiote_ , grows quick, sometimes a couple of feet in a day if there's enough water."

"But of course, the blood dripping down as the stalk bursts through the belly certainly helps speed up the process." Bunny smiled at Jack. It was almost a kind expression, aside from the underlying fierceness in his eyes. "However, not matter how you look at it, it still takes several antagonising hours to die. Nasty way to go. " 

Jack swallowed. 

Bunny casually leaned back, knocking on the tree Sandy was trapped in, making it buzz like an angry hornet's nest. "Not entirely sure what this will do to our Sandyman, but sand is sand and there are plenty of things that will grow in it." 

"What do you want?" North growled, both frustrated and resigned. 

"Easy." Bunny twirled the boomerang, then pointed on sharp tip at Jack. "Him." 

Tooth and North stared at Jack with panicked round eyes. Jack boggled back. 

"Him?"

"Jack?" 

" _Me?!_ " 

Jack was only slightly embarrassed that his voice cracked. Bunny huffed in amusement at him, the smirk on his face achingly familiar. 

"What are you going to do to him?" Tooth demanded, her voice going slightly shrill, her teeth bared in anger. 

Bunny chuckled, tossing the boomerang to his other hand, using the flat of the boomerang to tap her jaw closed. "No worries, Songbird." He said, smiling with bared teeth. "And by 'no worries', I mean it's _not for you to worry about_." 

This did nothing to assure the other Guardians, who renewed their struggle against their bonds, trying to fight their way free. Bunny chuckled at them, a dark almost cruel sound carrying over North's cursing. 

"I'll do it." Jack said, surprised at how even his voice came out. 

All three heads, Bunny’s included, turned in his direction, similar expressions of disbelief on all their faces. 

"Jack, no!" Tooth shook her head. "You can't!" 

Bunny stepped forward, almost the nervous shuffle he did when he wasn't certain about something. "Ya mean it?"

"JACK!" North boomed, shaking his head. "There will be other way!"

Jack took a deep breath, ignoring the man who was the closest thing he had to a parent to focus on Bunny's strangely pale eyes. "I'll go with you." He said, voice even. He dredged up a smile, weak as it was. "All you had to do was ask, Bunny." 

"No." Bunny said, almost a croon as he crouched down so his head was level with Jack's, and reached out, clawed fingertips nearly brushing Jack's cheek. "Not 'go with'." He said, something unfathomable in his eyes, a pale milky green as opposed to the bright shade they had been. "' **Stay** '." 

"Stay with you?" Jack echoed, something uncomfortable squirming in his guts. It wasn’t quite fear, but it was close. 

Bunny nodded, closing his eyes as he tilted his head up as if to place a kiss on Jack's forehead. " _ **Mine**_." Bunny whispered, whiskers just barely brushing the hair that fell in front of Jack's face. A shiver running down Jack's spine, his lips opening as he gave a soft gasp.

They'd been protective of each other once they'd gotten past their initial introduction, but there was protective and there was possessive, and this was a lot of the latter. If he went with Bunny, he'd probably never see the others again. 

Might not even see the surface again. Both Bunny and Pitch were underground dwellers. 

" **Jack!** " Tooth cried. 

Jack licked his lips, his mind quickly running through options. Agreeing meant giving up his freedom, something he’d always had, even when he hadn’t had anything else other than his staff and the Wind. 

Arguing meant losing his family. He wasn’t quite sure if the others could actually be killed, but he was pretty sure that being impaled on a plant stalk through your belly and chest was something that even they’d have problems recovering from.

Agreeing didn’t mean that Bunny wouldn’t do the same to him. 

“ _Nyet!_ ” In the background, North shook his head. “Bunny! Do not do this!” He implored. 

“You won’t hurt them?” Jack whispered. 

“They leave me and my own alone, I leave them alone.” Bunny assured him. “Fair dinkum.” 

Jack searched Bunny’s face for any sign of trickery, but other than the change in colouring, he looked just like Bunny when he was being truthful. “Promise.” Jack said, a statement rather than a question. 

“On the Shadows, and my word as a Pooka, I so swear.” Bunny said, holding up a hand. “I will not seek to harm the Guardians so long as they leave me and mine alone.” 

He could feel the subtle magic binding Bunny to his promise drift through the air. “Okay.” Jack nodded. 

“Promise.” Bunny rumbled, his crooked overbite somehow threatening. 

“Wait!” Tooth shouted. “Don’t swear until he swears not to harm you too!” 

“I...” Jack paused, licking his lips again as his gaze flickered over Bunny’s face. Bunny watched him, his expression earnest. Oaths and promises were tricky things, you had to be careful how they were worded. “I promise I shall not to seek escape.” 

He could feel the magic binding him to his word. It was ambiguous enough that hopefully he wouldn’t be glued to Bunny’s side at all times, he was used to his solitude and so was Bunny, but enough to reassure the Pooka. 

“Done.” Bunny rumbled, the ground opening up around Jack, unpinning him. 

Jack hesitated, not immediately jumping free. “May I-?” He said, gesturing to the other Guardians. He realised his hands were shaking and curled them into fists to hide it. 

Bunny shot a glare over his shoulder, a low growl from his chest as if he’d just as soon eat them as look at them. “Quick.” He allowed, snapping his fingers, the plants releasing their grip on the Guardians. North had to scramble from landing on the spiky plant below them while the others floated free. “I’ll keep your staff.” He warned. 

Jack nodded, leaping out of the hole and dashing towards the others. Tooth dived for him, nearly strangling him. “Oh, Jack.” She whispered, tears in her eyes. “Why didn’t you make him promise?”

“He’s my best friend.” Jack whispered back. And Manny above, he’d _missed_ Bunny. 

The other Guardians were his family, but Bunny had always been the first. The first to acknowledge him. The first he’d bonded with, even if their relationship initially been mutual animosity. 

The first person he’d always turned to when he had a question, or just wanted to talk. His first real friend. 

His first... maybe more. 

North wrapped his giant arms around them both. “You did not have to do this.” He rumbled sorrowfully. 

“Think I kinda did.” Jack smiled, burying his face in North’s long scratchy beard. “We’d all do the same for each other.” 

Sandy’s arms wrapped around his legs, as if Sandy’s weight could hold him there, with them. The Fairies followed, clinging to his hair, a few of them sniffing back tears. 

“I love you guys.” Jack murmured, tightening his grip. They murmured their own words of love and comfort back, grips tightening almost to the point of pain, as if they could imprint themselves on his body. 

“Jack.” Bunny called, and his time was up. 

“I have to go.” Jack said, trying to pull away. Their hands and fingers lingered, trailing down his body. “Take care of the kids.” He said, giving them a weak smile. 

Tooth made a sound as if he was being ripped from her as he finally stepped clear, North putting a hand on her shoulder, keeping her from following him. North’s other arm went around Sandy, holding on to them both. 

Jack mouthed the word ‘thanks’ to him, walking backwards until he felt a furry hand on his wrist. “Time ta go.” Bunny said quietly, the shadows darkening around them. 

“Alright.” Jack murmured, his eyes gazing over the Guardians, drinking them in. The way Sandy’s face was twisted up in silent tears, North’s giant blue eyes sombre for a change, and how Tooth was biting her lower lip, tears not yet falling as her fairies warbled sorrowfully. 

Then the ground opened up and swallowed him whole.

* * *


	2. Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's only forever, Not long at all  
> Lost and lonely, That's underground  
> Underground
> 
> -Lyrics by David Bowie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... The fic hit about 16,000 words in the file, and suddenly decided to change the ending. And by 'change' I mean, 'add on', complete left turn, what the hey. So, more writing.  
> In the meantime, this section decided it wanted to be posted. Because this fic has a really bizarre mind of its own. >_>

* * *

The first thing that Bunny did once he had Jack down in his dark tunnels was to check him over, sniffing Jack's face, his legs, his arms, Bunny occasionally rubbing his jaw against him like a cat marking territory. Jack held himself still, trying not to laugh at the snuffling against his ribs, and wondering how far this was going to go. 

Just when he was starting to worry about if his clothes were about to be taken off, Bunny released him, looking calmer than he had before. “Here.” He said, handing Jack his staff. 

“You’re not keeping it?” Jack asked, surprised as he wrapped his hands around the familiar branch. He’d thought Bunny had taken it as collateral. 

And Jack had promised he wouldn’t seek escape, he’d said nothing about not attacking. Or defending. 

“No.” Bunny said, then turned and started walking down a tunnel. There was just enough light that he looked like a shadow against the dark grey tunnels. Jack hesitated a second, then followed, curiosity overwhelming any possible fears he had. 

Bunny was silent as he walked, a noticeable change. Usually Bunny ran, he hopped, he sprinted, he rarely _walked_ , much less on two feet. But now he seemed to almost glide, legs almost invisible in the darkness. Occasionally Bunny would hold a hand out against the wall for support, like walking that way was hard, but he didn’t stop. 

Jack followed him as the tunnel opened up into an oval shaped room, much like the Warren, but with a large black spiky throne in the middle. Eggs floated inside of shadows, like some sort of inverted Will O’ Wisps, occasionally swooping down like bats. He let out a low whistle as he looked around. 

Not a whole lot to see, actually. 

Bunny let out a low grunt as he sat down in the throne, propping his head up on the back of one hand, eyes drifting shut. Jack looked around. “Bunny?” 

He didn’t get an answer, Bunny’s breath slow and easy, like he was fast asleep. It didn’t look comfortable, sitting up like that, but Jack was kind of afraid to wake him. 

Jack walked around the perimeter of the room, occasionally touching the walls, feeling the smoothness of the rock. The floating eggs scattered as he approached them, and he turned it into a sort of a game, trying to see if he could touch them. 

It turned boring after a while, and Jack looked around, at a loss of what to do. There was a door, true, but he’d promised not to try to escape. He could freeze the floor, but then what would he do? 

With a sigh, he sat down with his back against a wall and closed his eyes, trying to remember the last time he’d actually rested. It had been a while, it was nearly spring now and he’d been busy trying to keep the children alive during the winter. 

He hoped they would be okay. He didn’t have much he could contribute for a while. And the other Guardians were still out there. 

Deep underground, far from the sky that had been his home for centuries, Jack pulled his hood up over his head and closed his eyes.

* * *

Jack was awoken to the sound of a low growl. “What is that _boy_ doing here?!” A vaguely familiar British accent snarled from the shadows. 

Jack’s breath hitched in his chest, feet sliding across the ground as he aimed his staff in the direction he thought he’d heard the voice. 

He was used to waking up in strange room, it seemed like all they ever did down here, wander around endless grey tunnels and hang out in boring rooms while Bunny meditated. Jack had already caught up on all the rest he’d missed running himself ragged the past couple of years. Now it was just boring. 

But there’d never been anyone down here other than himself and Bunny, who didn’t talk a lot, his attention and energy focused inwards. 

Gold eyes glinted from the darkness, the gleam of sharp teeth. 

“p-Pitch?” Jack gasped, ice spreading around him in a defensive circle as he got his feet under him. 

It couldn’t be the Boogeyman. Pitch was gone. 

A dark shadow separated itself, moving closer. It was Bunny, but it wasn’t. The cold gold dismissive eyes and snarl revealing sharp pale teeth didn’t belong to his friend. “Bunny?” Jack whispered, hesitant to lash out at the former Guardian. 

Bunny jerked at the sound of his name, paws coming up to cover his face as he stepped backwards, breathing hard. Jack rose to his feet and waited, ready to flee if he needed to. 

When Bunny lowered his hands again, his eyes were pale green again, nearly myopic as they stared at him. “Jack?” Bunny breathed. 

Jack swallowed. “Here.” 

Bunny stared at Jack for a moment, then looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time. He moved towards Jack, sliding one foot forward before shifting closer, as if expecting it to be a trap, his nose twitching as he did so. Jack held himself still as Bunny reached out, fingertips brushing his cheek, before Bunny’s paw cradled the side of his face, as if surprised Jack was solid. 

“Jack.” Bunny sighed in relief, pulling Jack into a hug, chinning him, rubbing jaw across the top of Jack’s head before nuzzling his hair. “You’re alright.” It wasn’t quite a question. 

“I’m fine.” Jack assured him, wrapping his free arm around Bunny’s chest. Bunny’s fur was as soft as it ever was, even if his scent was stronger and slightly different. Bunny kind of needed a bath, he smelled sort of dusty, like he hadn’t had one in a while. 

“Good.” Bunny nodded, clinging tighter, as if Jack were a lifeline. 

It took a second to register that Bunny’s paws were shaking slightly. “Bunny-?” 

Bunny shook his head, pulling away. "M’fine." He said instead, turning and walking out of the room and back out into the tunnels. 

Jack glanced around, then followed him. 

He didn’t have to point out that Bunny really wasn’t ‘fine’.

* * *

The room had cages hanging from the ceiling.

This was new. Most of the giant rooms looked a lot like the Warren, minus the living plants. Just dull curved walls and domed ceilings. Or what would be domed ceilings if it wasn’t for the pointy stalactites that hung down over their heads like swords waiting to fall. 

Jack glanced over at Bunny, who was meditating, his legs tucked in a lotus position, hands resting on the tops of his knees, his breathing slow and regular. It seemed to be Bunny’s favourite position, the dark throne had yet to make a reappearance. 

It took a few tries, but he was able to launch himself off the Sentinel Eggs, bounce off the walls, and fling himself up towards the ceiling to grab at the cages. The staff made it a little tricky until he used the crook to latch on to the chain holding the cage, using it for leverage to pull himself up to the top.

The problem with being underground was that he couldn’t summon the wind to glide on, the air was almost always still without a direction connection to the surface. He could still jump higher and farther than a normal human, but he couldn't float or defy gravity without the wind's help. 

Which sucked. It was strange not being able to throw himself in the air and be caught by the wind's playful presence. It was almost as bad as missing his staff, like there was a part of himself he couldn't access. He was as much an Air Elemental as he was a Winter one. 

Being up high helped a little, he’d always thought better from up high. Rooftops, telephone poles, treetops, these were his favourite perches. 

Swinging from one hanging cage to the next was fun, grabbing the chain a cage hung from and rocking it back and forth until he could build up enough moment to leap to the next one. 

It was while in mid-air that he noticed something about odd about the cages. There was a large imprint in the side of the one he was grabbing, as if something large had crashed into the side of it, denting the thick metal. 

He scaled down the side of it, discovering something else. The floor of the cage was gone. There were sides, doors with latches, but no bottoms to the cages, just empty air. They couldn't hold anything while suspended from the air like this.

Jack climbed to the top, rocking the cage until he could leap to the next one. He hooked the staff on the chain, using it as a grip to climb down the side, discovering that the floor hadn’t just been removed, it’d been torn away. There were impressions of fingers in the metal, three fingers and a thumb, each one at last twice as wide as Jack's narrow fingers.

There was only one person that Jack knew who had a hand print like that. Bunny. And while Bunny hadn't removed the cages, he'd made an effort to turn them non -functional. 

... Bunny also didn't like heights, and Jack didn't see a way to raise or lower the chains. 

Really strange. 

On top of a whole bunch of other strange. Jack rubbed his forehead, then climbed back up to the top of the cage. He pulled the hood up over his head as he settled down, his legs hanging over. From here, he could barely make out Bunny's still form on the ground below, nearly invisible in the various shadows. 

It was hard to gauge time down here, but it seemed like he could pick up a bit of a chill from the surface, which meant that it was Winter down under, and Summer up in the northern hemisphere. Spring had passed, with no way to track how long it had been. 

He wasn’t sure if he was helping or not. Pitch had made a couple more appearances, proving he still had mastery of the shadows, combined with Bunny’s plant ability, creating giant spiky plants of doom that hurt a lot when they caught Jack unawares. 

It freaked them both out whenever that happened. Jack because hearing Pitch's smooth voice coming from Bunny's body was just **wrong**. And Bunny because it always made him feel like he’d failed Jack. 

It never lasted long, Bunny taking control over his body again, but it was enough to keep Jack slightly on edge. 

And honestly it gave Jack something to do, it wasn’t like there was much he could do to help Bunny fight something inside his own body. 

He liked to think that Bunny had been a bit more relaxed than he had when Jack had first come down here, even nearly getting a friendly smile or two, but he wasn’t sure. Bunny was similar, still his best friend, but he was different too. More... distant. Colder. 

He was definitely afraid _for_ Bunny, but not of him. Jack still trusted Bunny, that Bunny wouldn’t hurt him, but past that... He didn’t know.

At this point, all he had was that trust, and hope that it would all work out. 

The shadows moved below him, Bunny rising out of his crouch, foot thumping on the ground. Jack paused, wondering what was going on. It was too dark to see if there was another tunnel opening up. 

“ _JACK?!_ ” Bunny’s panicked shout echoed throughout the chamber, the sound reverberating. 

“Bunny?” Jack called back, leaning down and pushing the hood off his head. Bunny’s pale eyes latched onto him, nearly round in alarm. 

Jack pushed himself off the edge of the cage, falling lightly through the air and landing in a crouch on the ground. “What’s wrong _gnhk_?!”

His question was cut off as a 6’ 1”, Master of Tai Chi with Nerves of Steel tackled him, Bunny practically wrapping himself around Jack. Jack made a confused noise in the back of his throat, grateful that breathing was occasionally optional, cause otherwise his lungs would be full of fur. 

Bunny pulled away just enough to check Jack over, then glommed on to him again, a low rumble in the back of his throat, as if to warn anyone else from coming near them. 

“Bunny?” Jack shoved and wiggled until he could get his head free to talk without chewing on Bunny’s fur. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” 

“Couldn’t sense ya.” Bunny growled. “Thought _he_ had gotten ya.” 

That Pitch had gotten to Jack. “No, I just-” Jack gestured up at the cages. “-went up. I like heights, remember?” 

Bunny spotted the cages and spat something in a language Jack didn’t understand at them, moving Jack so that Bunny was a barrier between Jack and the cages. 

“Bunny?” Jack inquired. He could feel the Pooka swallow, Adam’s apple moving against his head. 

“ _He_ liked the idea of trappin’ ya in them.” Bunny said quietly. Jack let out a soft exhalation of understanding. 

Bunny hadn’t been able to physically remove the cages, but he had been able to render them unusable. Made them safe for Jack. 

“Thanks.” Jack said, hugging Bunny tighter. “Sorry I scared you.”

“Couldn’t sense ya.” Bunny nuzzled him, making a soft contented rumble. “Next time, keep in contact with th’ rocks. Unless _he_ shows up, then go up.”

So Jack was untraceable to Bunny if he wasn’t in contact with the ground. Interesting. 

“Got it.” Jack nodded, meaning no such thing.

* * *

"Oh, it's _you_ again." A contemptuous voice spat and Jack looked up into the silver eyes of a nightmare made flesh. Pitch Black, in Bunny's body.

Jack smirked. "Sorry to disappoint."

Pitch sniffed, looking away, nose in the air, as if Jack was unworthy of him to look down upon. Jack snickered quietly, shifting to get his feet under him, staff ready to swing. It didn't look like it was going to be one of the confrontational fights, Pitch was out to wander around while Bunny was resting.

He hadn't been quite sure what to expect when he'd been pulled down underground, but this wasn't it. He'd been figuring chains, whips, some sort of dungeon, possibly some torture.

Instead it was mostly.... boring.

Bunny would get annoyed at him for it later, but sniping with Pitch had become one of the few forms of entertainment down here. There wasn't a lot for him to do.

Jack had taken to exploring the tunnels outside the rooms Bunny was resting in. Not that there was much to see, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing. Sometimes he’d ice the tunnels and go sliding down them, but it got boring after awhile with no one to play with. 

It didn't matter where Jack was, the first thing Bunny did when he woke up was track Jack and check him over for injuries. Sometimes Jack wondered if Bunny was stuck in the last thought he'd had before he'd been hit by the arrow, to _Protect Jack_. 

He’d never asked though, cause he was kind of afraid of the answer. Bunny’s head was a scary place right now. 

But once Bunny was sure Jack was unharmed, Bunny would start walking the tunnels. Sometimes Jack could get him to talk then, but usually not. Eventually Bunny would sit down and start meditating again, leaving Jack to his own devices. 

Rinse, repeat, and lather, ad nauseum. 

At least Pitch was a break from the monotony. And the Master of Fear had been getting steadily weaker lately as well. Pitch hadn’t been able to summon shadows or plants in a while, leaving him with only words as weapons. 

Which occasionally drew metaphorical blood anyway. Pitch as deadly with his tongue as he was with any bladed weapon.

"Haven't seen you in a while." Jack commented. "Was starting to think Bunny finished eating you."

He got a sneer in return. "Hardly." Pitch's tone was dry, almost bored.

Jack pointedly glanced down at the ground where mosses and lichen were sprouting up where Bunny-Pitch walked, then back up at Pitch. Pitch sneered in response, a curl of a lip flashing white teeth.

It was an encouraging sign, that plants were starting to grow around Bunny again. The Pooka hadn't said anything when Jack pointed it out, just petted the new growth with a trembling paw, as if afraid that it would vanish if he touched it too hard.

Jack sometime wondered if this meant that things were growing on the surface again too. The return of birth, of new life. He still wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but kind of felt like it should be approaching Autumn on the surface, which hopefully meant there would be food for kids during the winter.

Pitch sneered at the new growth, but he looked troubled by it. He was also looking a lot more wane than he had been, as if he was starting to fade away.

"I'm not the only one who is vanishing." Pitch said loftily, idly spreading a hand out, admiring the glint of the light on sharp claws. "Things are fine now, of course.... But tell me, Jack-"

Those eerie pale eyes focused on Jack with startling intensity. "-What happens comes _Winter_?"

Despite his best efforts, Jack still shivered, Pitch's words rattling around inside of him like the clapper on a bell. "Nothing." He said mulishly, gripping his staff tighter.

Pitch laughed, recognising the bravado for what it was, but he lapsed into silence, apparently content to stare at the walls around them until Bunny took over again. Jack didn't mention anything when Bunny looked him over for any potential injuries, but he did hug back a little tighter than he usually did.

* * *

At first, it was like a minor itch under his skin. The ice, the chill in his bones whispering ‘let us out, let us out, let us out’. Jack gritted his teeth, holding it together, holding the cold back, holding it inside himself. 

And then it started to leak out. 

Jack tended to leave frost wherever he went, a side effect of what he was. But it was just that, frost that quickly faded away, leaving the places he’d tread a little bit colder. 

He started leaving clumps of ice behind. Not just fern-like patterns that didn’t melt, but spiky things that looked more like caltrops the size of porcupines than slippery patches ice. He worried about Bunny running into one and slicing open a paw or two. 

The chill of Autumn began to soak into the ground and the ice got bigger. Spikes as tall as he was began to form, blocking the passage ways behind him. 

Jack Frost brought the Autumn chill and the Winter cold across continents. He’d done it for hundreds of years, the power inside of him begging to get out, to do his _duty_. 

And he couldn't, he was bound underground, due to a promise. 

He started to fear for Bunny, what would happen to him, trapped below the earth with Jack. Jack had never tried to repress his abilities before, controlling storm fronts was one thing, containing the chill that was a part of him as natural as breathing was another.

To gain some control over his abilities, he went to some of the chambers farthest from where he knew Bunny was and unleashing his cold, freezing the room. He'd expected a coating of frost across everything and ended up freezing the room solid, filling it with cold glittering ice that shone like dark diamonds. 

He filled the next room, and the next. 

Jack froze the rooms until he was shaking and exhausted from limiting himself, and it still wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. He could still feel the cold inside of him pressing to get out. The amount of ice looked impressive, but what he’d generated was barely enough to coat a few towns. 

Bunny found Jack like that and held him for a long while. There was a faint tremble in Bunny’s paws that belied the fact that he was as scared as Jack. 

They didn’t speak. Jack didn't ask to be released from his promise and Bunny didn't offer.

* * *

The thing that scared Jack the most was the idea that he’d hurt his friend.

The cold that radiated from his body was so low that his breath frosted in the air. He probably could have frozen mercury solid with a brief touch of his fingers, he was that far below freezing.

Jack had never been scared of himself, of his ice, before. It had always just been there, an extension of himself. But the idea of accidently freezing Bunny made him sick. Because while Bunny had survived a lot, he didn’t think the Pooka could survive the shattering cold Jack was radiating.

The problem was that when Bunny tracked Jack down, he wasn’t always... Lucid. Words weren’t always going to be enough to keep Bunny far enough away to keep Jack from accidentally freezing him, or his ice from jabbing Bunny full of holes. 

Which meant that Jack needed to put himself somewhere that Bunny knew where he was, but couldn’t touch him. 

He settled himself down in the middle of the room with the cages hanging from the ceiling, the one that Pitch liked to mock Jack about locking him inside, even with the bottoms ripped away. He’d gotten better at predicting when Bunny was going to check on him, and his gut said it was about time.

So he waited. The cold crept around him, spiky hoarfrost like lace first, creeping across the dark plants that had started to grow, turning them silver. The frost began to spike, forming what looked like a lawn of sharp silver grass across the entire cavern floor, creeping up the walls, where it sparkled like faceted gems. 

It covered Jack too, cracking when he moved slightly. 

The moisture in the air eventually began to solidify, forming glittering diamond dust, essentially a frozen fog. It was lovely, in a cold lonely way. 

He drifted for a while, the glittering ice almost hypnotic in his semi-frozen state, his energy focused on reining himself in as much as he could. 

At least until the pounding of Bunny’s feet against the earth echoing in the tunnels. “Jack?!” Bunny shouted, an edge to his voice. 

“I’m here!” He called back, ice crackling as his fingers flexed against the rough bark of his staff. “Don’t come in!” 

“ _What?!_ ” Fury and fear intermixed in Bunny’s replying roar. 

Jack licked his lips, wrestling with himself for a moment if he should shout that he was having some ‘personal time’, then dismissed it. Thankfully, Bunny had followed what Jack asked, stopping at the curved entryway, pale eyes staring around the room in confusion. 

“... Jack?” Bunny asked, almost hesitantly. 

“Don’t come in.” Jack repeated, drinking in the sight of his friend with the knowledge that it was going to be a little while before he saw Bunny again. 

“What’s going on?” He could hear the hitch in Bunny’s breathing, saw the way Bunny’s ears droop, pressing against his spine. “Jack?”

“I’ll be right here, Bunny.” Jack said soothingly, even as he felt his control slip, distracted by Bunny’s presence. It was harder than he’d predicted to think and keep everything reigned in. “You might want to step back a bit.” 

Bunny didn’t, but he half expected that. Fortunately, he trusted Bunny enough to get out of the way, the Pooka was certainly fast enough. “Jack-?” It was almost a whimper, even as Bunny’s dark fur started to glint with pale frost. 

“I’ll see you in the Spring, Bunny.” Jack smiled, although he wasn’t sure how well Bunny could see it with the way the ice refracted the light. “Promise.” 

He stopped fighting the cold, giving free rein to the power inside of him. The ice and cold ripped out of him with a feeling so sharp he couldn’t tell if it was pleasure or pain. He felt it hit the walls of the room and recoil, turning back on him, freezing the room, and Jack, solid. 

The last thing he heard before everything faded to white was Bunny howling his name.

* * *

When he woke up again, it was in drips and drabs, like shifting melting ice. Brief flashes of awareness, of pain, before things go quiet and numb again. He became aware of sounds, of warmth, comforting hands. 

It was a slow process before he could finally summon the energy to open his eyes and take stock of his bearings. He could smell damp fur and rich earth, overlaid with a familiar musky scent. There was a soft rumbling sound, and the reassuring steady thump of a heartbeat against one ear. 

Bunny. 

He tried to say his friend’s name, but it came out as a muted whimper. He was completely drained of energy, didn’t even have enough to spare to lift up his head. 

“Shhh.” Bunny whispered, gentle claws sliding through Jack’s hair. Jack realised he was curled up in Bunny’s lap, head resting against the Pooka’s chest. “You’re okay. You’re safe.” 

Jack hummed back and let Bunny hold him. 

He didn’t really sleep after that, just kind of floated, slowly regaining energy. His body was stiff from staying literally frozen in one position for months, and it took him awhile to regain mobility. Bunny was patient with him, the two of them limping down the tunnels, Jack leaning on Bunny for balance as he got his legs to work properly again. 

It took him an embarrassing long time to realise that Bunny had changed since Jack froze himself. His fur was slightly lighter, his black stripes more visible against the charcoal grey. Bunny’s eyes had more green, although the dark pupil hadn't returned. 

Bunny felt calmer too. He wasn’t dashing off into tunnels or getting into arguments with himself. He seemed much more like himself, from before. Where he could sit patiently for hours, painting eggs or tending his garden. Or watch the sky change colour as the sun set, looking at the colour combinations until the dark sky filled with stars. 

“You’re different.” Jack eventually blurted it out, his pale hand wrapped around Bunny’s fingers, then winced. He’d never been one for tact, but that was blunt even for him. 

Bunny paused, then smiled. It was a small smile, almost tentative, but it warmed something in Jack’s chest. “Not fightin’ anymore.” 

“Fighting?” 

Bunny inclined his head, tapping on his skull with his free hand. “In here.”

For a second, Jack had a brief flash of fear that it wasn’t Bunny who Jack was talking to, but Pitch, that Pitch had won, then it was gone. They wouldn’t be having this conversation if Pitch was in control. 

“He’s gone?” Jack almost coughed, the word sticking in his throat. How? Why? “Pitch is gone?” 

Bunny gave a soft rumble, pressing his forehead against Jack’s, his fur warm and comforting against his skin. “The Hope that you’d wake up was stronger than the Fear that ya wouldn’t.” 

“... Oh.” Well, he was kind of happy to have been able to help? Even if it had been in a backwards sort of way? “So you’re...”

“My centre’s still Hope.” Bunny nodded, leaning back so Jack could see his smile, which was still kind of small, but pleased. “It’s surrounded by Fear and Dark, but my core is Hope.” 

Like North’s nesting dolls, Hope remained the centre one, but Darkness and Fear were the next layers, replacing whatever had been close to Bunny’s core. 

Jack grinned, his chest lightening. “And she closed the lid of the chest after releasing all the evils of the world, keeping Hope inside.” He quoted, the story tickling his memory. 

Bunny flicked an ear at him. “Jack?”

“Oh. Sorry.” Jack shook his head, feeling kind of self-conscious. “It’s an old story, about a woman who was given a box and told not to open it.” He liked stories. Sometimes he’d hover outside classroom windows, listening to the teachers and students reading out loud. Some of the old myths were fun, but really messed up. 

“I know it.” Bunny nodded, looking up at the ceiling with an odd expression, a bit like resignation, a bit like longing. “Hope remained trapped in the darkness of Pandora’s Box.”

“Yeah.” He swallowed, his mood falling slightly again. 

There’d been one discussion with an older class, that Hope was good, because it was the expectation of the unknown, the promise that the future would be better than the present darkness. Like light, Hope couldn’t exist without the Evils that defined it. A little beacon, at the edge of the darkness. 

-Or that Hope was the worst evil of them all, because once it was a known factor, it didn’t exist anymore. That it gave people something to strive for, prolonging their pain. 

Only time would tell what kind of Hope Bunny was now.

* * *

He had a couple of weeks where he finally regain enough energy to start feeling like his mischievous self again, and then summer crept into autumn.

Jack nearly felt like crying at the thickening frost he left behind in his footsteps. He stared at it, hands shaking, because he didn’t want to go back into the ice, that endless time frozen solid, of nothingness and the void. It was closer to death than sleep and the thought of it made him feel hollowed out and numb.

Bunny wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on top of Jack’s as they watched the starburst shapes of ice melt on the tunnel ground. Bunny knew as well as Jack what it meant.

Bunny was a lot like how he used to be, but different too. More prone to silence, and increasingly tactile, as if afraid that Jack would melt through his fingertips. 

It was both stifling and a comfort.

* * *

“What-?” Jack breathed, the wind diving down into the tunnel opening to wrap around him, bringing the scent of the night air with it, the songs of the night birds, the hum of insects. The wind tugged on his clothing, ruffled his hair, whispered its delight at seeing him, offering promises of adventure and fun. It was a new moon, no moonlight illuminating the sky, but still brighter than the tunnels. 

He filled his lungs, feeling giddy and weightless, his feet lifting off the ground at the lure of the night sky above. He tapped it down, the urge to fly like a physical ache inside of him. 

He promised. 

“Meet me back here before the Sun rises.” Bunny said, drawing his attention back underground. Bunny was nearly invisible, dark fur blending in with the shadows of the tunnel, leaving his pale eyes the only spot of colour. “Or I’ll come fetch ya.” He growled, a threat and a promise. 

Jack laughed, light and giddy. “You mean it?” He demanded, hardly able to to believe it. The Wind picked him up, impatiently tugging him upwards. He fought it, hovering in a crouch inside the tunnel. 

“Yes.” He could see the rueful flash of Bunny’s teeth in the low light. “Go. Have fun.” 

He hesitated a half second, then was flying, the wind pulling him straight up into the air like a shot. He cheered, arms outstretched as he laughed, filled with gleeful energy. It felt _so_ good to feel the freedom of the sky again. 

Jack floated for a moment, then dove straight back down, towards the closing tunnel. “Bunny!” 

The tunnel quickly reopened. “Jack?!” Bunny shouted back, slightly alarmed, pale eyes and teeth flashing. 

“Join me?” Jack requested breathlessly, crouching beside the tunnel and leaning over so he could see the Pooka better. 

Bunny stared at him, mouth open for a moment, then he ruefully lowered his head, shaking it. “Ta. But no.” 

Jack made a curious noise in the back of his throat, tilting his head in confusion. 

He got a huff in return, Bunny turning his milky white eyes towards the night sky. “Pooka have been Protectors of the Light since our race began.” He said quietly, his voice full of longing. “And now I can’t even bare the faint glow of the distant stars.” 

Jack’s throat tightened. Bunny was the last Pooka. And now he was Shadows and Darkness, the very thing he’s been fighting his entire long life. 

Bunny gave him a small bittersweet smile, barely visible. “Go, Jack.” He urged, his voice soft and kind. “I’ll see ya before dawn.” 

“See ya then.” Jack promised, giving Bunny a salute that he knew Bunny couldn't see, but thought he’d appreciate none the less. He leapt into the air, the Wind catching him and tossing him around like a plaything, happy to see him again. 

Everything looked difference since he last flew, a year and half ago. There was more plant life, the trees and grass more lush. The forests seemed to welcome him back, leaves turning bright vibrant colours as he passed, the world settling down to sleep after a productive summer. 

Plants had grown this year, during Spring and Summer. 

Jack peered into windows, watching kids and families. There were smiles again, people looking less worn out, hopeful once more. Most of the sharp lean hungry lines on people’s faces were gone, like there had finally been enough food to go around. 

He laughed joyously at that, a weight lifting off his heart. Jack had _helped_. Not just Bunny, but everyone else too. He’d helped the children. 

His promise had been a good thing. He felt lighter, more in control of himself as he did what he’d always done for hundreds of years. Ushering in Autumn and bringing in Winter. 

As much as he loved heights and flying, he made sure to occasionally touch down on the ground, letting Bunny know where he was, that he was doing fine. Snowdrops sprang up where he landed, the little drooping white flowers letting him know that his message was received. 

It made him giddy, like they were playing a game, just the two of them. 

The night sky began to lighten entirely too soon for Jack’s liking, but he had given his word, and with some regret, he had the Wind carry him back to where he’d promised to meet Bunny. 

He wasn’t entirely sure he’d gotten the right tree, but the ground opened up as soon as he landed, inviting him back down into the tunnels. The Wind swirled around him, not wanting to let him go again, but a promise was a promise. He couldn’t say that he’d be back, so he sent the Wind off with a smile and a wave before jumping back down into Bunny’s realm. 

The ground closing above him was a little freaky, the walls closing in on him in a way that was both familiar and panic inducing after flying for hours in the night sky. His eyes didn’t quite want to adjust to the dim light, and he yearned for the open winter air. 

He heard Bunny’s snuffling before he felt him, Bunny patting him over for injuries, nose scenting where he went. Bunny’s hands were grounding and he leaned into the embrace, closing his eyes against the shadows. 

“Thank you.” He said, throat tight. He was grateful, stupidly grateful to have been able to fly again. He felt like shaking, like an addict wanting another hit of freedom. 

Bunny shook his head, rubbing the underside of his jaw against Jack’s hair. “Thank _you_.” Bunny corrected, holding Jack like he was something precious. 

Jack hugged him back, fingers burying themselves in Bunny’s fur as he hid his face against Bunny’s chest. 

Later, he’d tell Bunny about what he saw, the changes that have happened since he last went above. 

But not now, when the reminder of what he gave up was so fresh, like a gaping wound in his chest.

* * *

From then on, every few nights would Bunny open a tunnel to the night sky to allow Jack to fly free and usher in winter. It was in a different place every time, and always after Sandy had passed by, and never when the moon was completely full. 

It felt good to be able to fly and do what he was meant to, but there was only so much area Jack could cover in less than 12 hours. There was a constant, nagging pressure to get everything done before he returned underground. Bringing winter was less fun and more of a chore. 

It was also terribly lonely. 

There were no kids outside for Jack to play with after dark, and very few adults. He got his laughs in where he could breezes blowing skirts and scarves, ice patches that made strolling lovers fall into each other, but even the adults were only out for a few hours after the sun set before retreating inside where it was warm, leaving him alone in the night air. 

Life on the surface was better than it was when he went underground, but it still wasn’t back to the level it was before Pitch infected Bunny. 

Even as he played with the wind, revelling in what freedom he’d regained, it drove home how much he’d lost. He felt hollow, like he was missing a part of himself, something vital. 

Jack could bring the snow and the cold by himself, but for laughter, joy and fun, he needed people.

* * *


	3. Freefall and Despair.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get worse, things get a little better, then it all goes sideways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  **WARNINGS: Angst, Depression and Cannibalism (yes, again) in this chapter.**
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> (Things'll get better, promise.)

* * *

“NO!”

Jack startled at the force of Bunny’s shout, flinching slightly and clutching his staff to his chest as the noise echoed down the endless tunnels. 

He’d asked if he could go up in the daytime when people were out, instead of at night. 

They stared at each other, Jack motionless, Bunny’s arms and fingers twitching like he was resisting the urge to grab Jack, wrap him up, and never let him go. It took a bit of effort to keep from stepping back from Bunny and it was only the knowledge that it would probably prompt Bunny into leaping for him that helped Jack hold his ground. 

Bunny’s ears drooped, not pressing against his spine, just kind of hanging loosely, dejectedly. 

“I... I _can’t_.” Bunny turned away, so Jack couldn't see his face. “At night... I can protect ya, keep an eye out fer ya, keep anythin’ from happenin’ to ya.” 

Bunny’s shadow eggs. Jack looked around, realising that he’d gotten so used to seeing them float around that he’d stopped paying any attention to them. He’d probably had a handful with him at all times whenever he was up at the surface, following him around unseen. 

He’d also been having a bit of trouble with his vision up on the surface, the light making everything slightly blurry after so long spent in the dark. 

“Are you... Are you scaring people away-?” Jack asked, suddenly afraid of the answer. That the reason why no one was out to play was because Bunny was chasing them away from Jack.

Bunny shook his head. “No! Jack, no. M’not Pitch. I just...” His friend slumped. “I can’t... I can’t get rid of the fear that someone gonna take you away. For good.” He confessed, sounding miserable. 

That someone would kill Jack, like the rest of the Pooka. That Bunny would add Jack’s name to the list of people he’d never see again. 

A reasonable fear for anyone who had seen as much slaughter as Bunny had, then amped up to 11 because of all the darkness and fear that had infected his friend. 

“I get it.” Jack muttered. He understood Bunny’s paranoia, but understanding didn’t make it any easier to live with. 

“Ya really don’t.” Bunny shuffled closer, cradling Jack’s face in his paws a second before bringing their foreheads together. “I can smell it on ya. Yer not happy, and that’s my doin’.”

“Bunny...” 

“ _No_ , Jack.” Bunny made a sound like someone was pulling a knife from his gut. “Keepin’ ya down here is changin’ ya, like the Fear changed me. Ya don’t smell much like Joy anymore. Ya smell more like Resignation and Sorrow now.” 

Jack reeled. He was the Guardian of Fun, of Joy. It was what he was, who he was, right down at his centre. 

If he didn’t have that, what did he have? Even before he was a Guardian, he had his ‘fun times and snowballs’, invisible but still able to interact. 

He reached down to his centre, and he found the Joy that was always there, but it was buried deeper, harder to find. Mostly he just felt cold, and lonely. Even with Bunny right here. 

“Only a Monster would keep ya trapped down here, away from other people when ya need them.” Bunny said quietly. “And that’s what I’m doin’.”

“You’re my friend.” Jack corrected. His Best Friend. 

“You’re _my_ friend.” Bunny ran a hand through Jack’s hair, like soothing a small child, his voice sad. “I’m not so sure I can call meself yers anymore.” 

Jack wasn’t sure what to say to that.

* * *

Winter faded into Spring, the temperature heating up, making the surface above ground increasingly uncomfortable for Jack. In contrast the shorter nights, longer days, and growing greenery seemed to return some of Bunny's cheer. 

The tunnels to the surface closed, trapping Jack underground once more. 

Part of him was fine with that, as he attempted to remember what he had done before he had become a Guardian, before he’d spent the summer heat with North at the Pole, or enjoying the balmy cool weather of the Warren. He'd slept a lot, but after so many years of activity, it seemed so strange now.

The rest of him wailed at the inability to fly anymore, that he was trapped down here in the darkness, with no chance of reprieve for six months.

There was also the niggling thought that he was very careful never to voice, that Bunny was starting to feel more like his jailor, than his friend.

* * *

Bunny’s ears were twitching. Not so much turning back and forth to scan for danger, but playful twitches, his ears almost going sideways from his head. It was something Jack hadn’t seen Bunny do in ages, a playful twitch that said that Bunny was up to something silly. 

“Alright.” Jack grinned, leaning on his staff .”What’s up?” 

Bunny sidled up to him, glancing around the dark tunnels, as if afraid they’d be overheard in their completely isolated underground labyrinth. Jack bit back a smirk as he played along, shifting closer to Bunny. “Yeah?”

He got a poke in the arm. “Tag!” Bunny leapt away. “You’re it!” 

Jack stared for a moment, then laughed, running after, chasing Bunny through the tunnels. “No fair!” He shouted after, a wide grin stretching across his face. “Getting a head start!” 

Laughter was all he got in return. 

He could feel his cheeks stretch in wide smile, his cheeks aching slightly from the now unaccustomed expression as he caught up to Bunny, then turned and scampered off before Bunny could tag him back. 

Jack had a fairly good understanding of the tunnels by now, knowing where all the shortcuts were. He hopped and floated the best he could, avoiding touching the earth and giving his position away to Bunny. 

Which way? Which tunnel would be the best one to evade Bunny-

A wall of pressure suddenly pressed in around him, the buzzing electric feel of magic pinning his arms to his sides, binding his legs together. He wobbled for a second then crashed to the ground, with a cry as the air was forced out of his lungs. He was stuck, glued face-down to the earth with invisible ties, unable to even writhe against it. 

“ **Jack!** ” Bunny roar echoed through the tunnels. Jack could hear his heavy footsteps as Bunny barreled towards him, fangs and claws bared, a deep angry feral growl rumbling from of his chest. 

Jack couldn’t help the momentarily instinctive flash of panic as he remembered just how dangerous his friend could be right now. This was the person who had EATEN Pitch Black. 

And then Bunny stopped above him, all fours paws on the ground like a protective shield to protective from any threat. 

Only there was no threat. 

Still growling, Bunny lowered his head to sniff Jack’s shoulder and give him a quick nuzzle. With a gasp, the magic fell away, allowing Jack to breathe again. Which he did, rolling over to his side and curling into a ball around his staff, eyes closed tight as he fought against crying. Or screaming. 

Or both. 

“Jack?” Bunny rumbled. 

“I didn’t try to escape.” The words sounded more like a sob than anything else, but he couldn’t help how tight his throat was, the way his eyes stung at the hopelessness of his situation. “I swear to you, I didn’t try to escape.”

They’d been _playing_ , it was just a _game_. 

But it had been enough to activate the oath magic. Binding him, preventing him from breaking his word, his oath that he wouldn’t seek escape. 

“I know.” Bunny moved, curling next to him, the press of his fur against the taut line of Jack’s back, but he didn’t try to wrap Jack up in a hug. “I know, Jackie.” He said, voice old and so very worn. 

They laid there in the tunnel, Bunny’s breath tickling the edge of Jack’s ear, the hairs on the back of his head. Jack didn’t want to move, and Bunny didn’t make him, just stayed close to him, a silent presence.

It hurt to admit, but Jack wasn’t okay.

* * *

Bunny always had a habit of talking to himself. It used to be to his eggs when he painted them, talking about how pretty they were, sometimes just musing over problems, coming up with solutions by talking it out.

The habit never changed, even if Bunny hadn’t painted anything since Pitch. When he believed that Jack was off exploring and couldn’t hear, Bunny would still find a quiet place to sit and talk things over with himself. 

Unfortunately for Bunny, sound carried well in the tunnels. Extremely well. Especially when one’s ears had adapted to the silence, latching on to the faintest noise. 

In the quiet, Bunny called Jack his Light, his Hope. 

His Anchor. 

Jack was what helped kept Bunny sane, down here in the darkness. 

Bunny was afraid for Jack, fearful of what was happening to Jack. But he was more afraid that if he let Jack go, he’d lose what sanity he had, that he’d go crazy like Pitch did. That he’d turn into a monster and attack people.

That Jack would disappear, leave him forever. 

Jack wouldn’t do that that to Bunny, but he was leery to make any more promises other than the one he already had. 

Before Pitch, before Bunny had been turned, they had been tentatively working towards being something more than friends, possibly lovers, possibly more than that. 

Before Pitch, Jack would have sworn himself to Bunny without question, based off that potential, that _hope_. 

Not anymore. The knowledge hurt. 

Jack didn’t know how he was supposed to help Bunny when it felt like there was nothing of himself left.

* * *

Autumn came around again and Bunny opened the tunnels to the surface, to the night sky. The wind pulled him up and out, but Jack couldn’t quite muster the enthusiasm that he had for it the previous year.

* * *

Jack watched the sky start to change colours on the horizon, painting the snow covered landscape in pastels. He savoured the last few minutes of open sky before going back underground for the next few days.

At least until he heard the tiny chirps. 

Tiny, familiar chirps that he hadn’t heard in a couple of years now, but felt much longer than that. 

Shining, glittering flashes of colour, bright like jewels against the lightening sky caught his attention. He gasped, then grinned as he recognised the three tiny figures that swarmed around him, not quite touching. 

Tooth’s fairies. 

Happiness and _joy_ mingled in his chest at their familiar faces, as they demanded to know how he was doing, if he was okay, was he taking care of his teeth-?

He laughed, bright and giddy at their concern. “I’m fine, I’m fine! How are you doing?” He grinned, flashing his pearly whites to reassure them. A thread of worry intermingled with his joy at seeing them and he lowered his voice in concern. “You’re not supposed to be here!” 

A low rumble sent a chill up his spine, the thunder of rocks grinding against each other, mixed with the growl of a predator. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and for the first time he felt truly afraid of Bunny. “GO!” He cried, waving a hand. 

Too late, a dark shadow erupted from the ground, the fairies screaming and scattering as Bunny rushed past Jack. There was a sharp cry and a sickening crunch as Bunny’s jaws chomped down on one of them.

Jack’s stomach lurched, wrapping itself around his spine and for a moment he thought he was going to be sick. He didn’t have time for his stomach to make up its mind before a tunnel opened up below him, one of Bunny’s arms wrapping around Jack’s waist and pulling him under. 

The last thing he heard as the ground closed above them was the screams of the other two fairies.

Jack reeled in shock, pushing himself away from Bunny as soon as his feet touched the ground. “I can’t....” Jack struggled to breathe through his shock as he stared at his friend. “You ATE her?! She didn’t even touch me! She was just saying ‘Hi’!” 

Bunny held up a finger, torso heaving for a moment as if he were about to vomit, then he wetly spat something out into his other paw, twisting his body to hide it from Jack’s view. 

“The deal was, they leave you and me alone, I leave ‘em alone.” Bunny rumbled, his voice low and raw, like it hurt him to get the words out. “Fair dinkum.” 

“I... I...” Jack could only stammer, staring at Bunny, who turned to gaze back at him with eerily calm white eyes. Jack _knew_ the terms, he’d agreed to them. 

He looked down at the tunnel floor, hands clenched into fists as he sunk his teeth into his lower lip to bite back protests, feeling like something was breaking inside of him.

Bunny turned his head away. “That bein’ said, I didn’t mean ta do that.” He said regretfully, looking mournfully at the dead Fairy in his hand. “Couldn’t see her. Never woulda thought I’d get one o’ the quick little sheilas.” 

Something eased slightly in Jack’s chest at that. Not a lot, but enough that that he could pull air into his lungs again. A mistake. He’d forgotten, Bunny couldn’t see in the moonlight. Bunny had charged blindly and it was just dumb luck that he’d crushed the Fairy in his jaws instead of her fleeing to safety. 

It could have just as easily been Jack that Bunny bit. 

He nodded his head at Bunny, signalling his understanding, even if he couldn’t quite find it in himself to forgive Bunny at the moment. Tooth’s Fairies were his friends too. 

Bunny swallowed and nodded back. “C’mon.” He said roughly, motioning over his shoulder. “Let’s go find a place ta bury the girl.” 

Jack nodded, numbly following Bunny down the tunnels. 

They went back to the surface, appearing different location, where it was still nighttime. With Bunny’s urging, Jack directed a blind Bunny to the roots of a cypress tree, where Bunny dug a hole with his free hand, still holding the dead fairy, his powerful claws tearing into the ground. 

Once the hole was deep enough, Bunny paused, a few sprigs of Asphodel sprouting next to him. Bunny blindly reached over, flailing slightly as he tried to find the plants he’d just grown. Feeling kind of numb, Jack put a hand on Bunny’s arm, silently kneeling next to him and breaking off some of the large white sprigs of blossoms and putting them in Bunny’s outstretched paw. 

Bunny silently nodded his thanks, quietly wrapping the tiny body in the flowers before carefully lowering her into the hole. They both paused a moment, crouching over the grave in silence. Jack couldn’t find any words, anything profound to say, so he said nothing. 

After a moment, Bunny filled the hole back in, pressing his paws against the dirt. A blue-ish green plant with curling leaves slowly grew there, branches spreading over the grave as if to protect it. Jack didn’t recognise it, reaching out and touching the leaves. 

“Not rosemary?” Jack asked quietly. Rosemary for remembrance was traditional. 

Bunny shook his head. “Rue.” He said, voice soft. He looked and sounded weary, as if the weight of the world was pressing down upon him. “For sorrow and regret.” 

Jack shifted so he was leaning slightly against Bunny, his side pressing against Bunny’s long fur. It was a little bit of a comfort, but not much. 

They stayed there, not speaking, until the sky began to lighten along the eastern horizon before returning to the darkness of the underground.

* * *

Jack mourned. 

He mourned not only for the little fairy whose life had been snuffed out, but for himself as well. He’d been the cause for the death of one of his friends. 

He couldn’t forgive himself for that. The scene ran through his mind and he thought of a dozen scenarios where he could have saved her. 

Or have be eaten instead. He would gladly been mauled instead if that meant that they would have gotten away. 

He would never go up to the surface again. If that’s what it took to keep his family safe, he would stay down here and haunt the underground until the end of eternity. 

It was the only thing he could do now. Stay. 

As long as he stayed, Bunny would be fine, Bunny would be sane. The Guardians would continue to protect the children. He couldn’t even feel the cold anymore, just a sort of all prevailing numbness. 

He couldn’t even muster surprise when Bunny showed up. He did that occasionally, checking in on Jack before disappearing into the shadows again.

What was different was when instead of leaving, Bunny huffed and silently nudged Jack to his feet. Jack had trouble finding his balance even with his staff, his legs wobbly and stiff from disuse. Bunny carefully herded him down the tunnels, catching Jack when he stumbled. Eventually Jack trudged along, walking on his own two legs unaided. 

It wasn’t until the glow of moonlight blinded him that he noticed that they were in some of the surface tunnels, looking dumbly up at the sky above him. His hands clutched his staff to his chest, but he didn’t move, his feet rooted to the earth, even as the wind tried to pull him upwards.

“Jack.” Bunny rumbled, Jack turning to face him. The pooka had an odd look on his face, his blind eyes even more obvious in the dim light. Bunny shook his head, reaching a paw to grasp Jack’s shoulder, then sliding it up to cup Jack’s face, his thumb brushing against the underside of Jack’s eye, as if to wipe away a tear that wasn’t there. “Oh, Jackie boy.” He whispered mournfully. 

Jack just stood there, not pulling away. 

“Everythin’ in me says ta keep ya safe, protect ya.” Bunny said quietly, pulling his hands away. “But right now, the thing ya need protectin’ from most is _me_.” 

He blinked, taken back. He didn’t need any protection from Bunny, they both knew that Bunny wouldn’t hurt him. On purpose, anyway. 

“See? That, right there. Ya don’t smile, ya don’t laugh... You’re not fine.” Bunny’s brows wrinkled. “I bet ya don’t even know what day it is.”

He shrugged, wondering what Bunny’s point was. It didn’t really matter anyway, the days just kind of all blurred together down here. Seasons mattered, but not days. 

“It’s Christmas Eve, Jack.” Bunny said softly. 

Jack stiffened. Christmas. He’d almost forgotten about the holiday entirely. North would be flying around the globe today like a madcap madman.... 

He didn’t look up to the night sky, where North would be, stopping that train of thought right there. He wasn’t going up there. 

Bunny sighed, leaning forward to bring their heads together. “I didn’t realise til later... But I ain’t heard ya laugh like ya did with the fairies in yonks. And that isn’t right. The blame fer that rides squarely on my shoulders fer lettin’ fear rule me, instead o’ doin’ right by ya.”

Jack shook his head, his throat closing up as tears pricked his eyes. It wasn’t Bunny’s fault, not really. 

The truth of it was that if Jack had been faster, paid more attention, Bunny wouldn’t have had to try to stop Pitch’s arrow. Bunny wouldn’t have been infected with shadows and fear. 

Everything was Jack’s fault. 

“No, no no no.” Bunny crooned. As if being able to sense Jack’s darkening emotions, he wrapped his arms around Jack, pulling him close. “None o’ that now. Right now it’s Christmas, the most joyful day of the year, right?” 

Jack shrugged, his face buried against Bunny’s shoulder. 

“Right.” Bunny continued, as if Jack had agreed with him. “So here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna go up there, and you’re gonna go have fun. All night, all day, and all night again. I’m gonna stay down here and pick ya up on Boxing Day Morn, then we’ll renegotiate the terms of our agreement, yeah?”

It was almost too much, that shred of hope. 

“You’re sure?” Jack whispered, the words barely getting past his lips. Because if Bunny wasn’t sure, Jack was willing to stay down here. Forever, if he needed to. 

“Yeah.” Bunny pet the hair on Jack’s head. “I’m sure. Ya need to do what’s right for you, not just fer me. And right now, that means gettin’ up there, and havin’ fun. Start a snowball fight, go sleddin’ or somethin’. Just don’t get anyone run over by a sofa, okay?”

A startled laugh burst out of Jack’s chest, a sharp broken sound. He was never going to live down doing that to Jamie, not ever. 

“Okay.” He nodded, feeling something break free in his chest, leaving him feeling lighter, more buoyant. He felt like a weight was being pulled off of him. “Alright. I can do that. And then we’ll talk.”

“Yup.” Bunny gave him a tight squeeze, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before releasing him. The wind grabbed Jack immediately, trying to pull him upwards, leaving him hovering slightly above the ground. “See ya on Boxing Day.” 

Jack grabbed Bunny’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze before releasing him. “See you then.” He said, unable to fight the euphoric bubbling feeling starting to grow inside of him. 

The wind yanked him upwards so fast and high he was dizzy from the acceleration. He whooped, his heart suddenly beating fast in his chest at the rush. A snowball fight. He could start a snowball fight. Actually play with someone, interact with them, even if he didn’t have many believers who could see him anymore. 

He had the time. 

“WIND!” Jack shouted, the half-moon and stars above him blurring into white-ish blobs as tears stung his eyes. “Take me somewhere _fun!_ ”

The wind was only too happy to comply.

* * *

His face hurt from smiling and it wasn’t even sunrise yet. There was a feeling of hushed expectation in the air, waiting for the first rays of sunlight for the kids to start waking up en mass and see what North had left them. 

And then go outside and _play_. 

He couldn’t wait. 

Jack alternated between running across the ground, Bunny’s snowdrops sprouting where he did, then jumping high up into the trees, crowing with delight in breathless anticipation. 

Play! He was going to get to play! 

He hadn’t interacted with kids, with his believers in what felt like _ages_. And it looked like he was going to be able to do so again in the future. 

Jack felt like he was going to vibrate out of his skin from too many emotions clashing around inside of him. Hope, despair, joy, sadness, melancholy, giddy happiness. There was suddenly _possibility_ , potential in his future where there had been none. 

All it had taken was the death of a small fairy. 

Jack perched on the top of a tall pine tree, hugging himself. He wanted to see his friends, his family again. Their agreement said that if the Guardians left Jack alone, Bunny wouldn’t attack them... But there was nothing about Jack having to leave the Guardians alone. A loophole, he could go to them. 

He had the time. Sandy was nomadic, floating high up in the clouds. At sunset, he could maybe see Sandy again, say ‘Hi’, see how the Sandman was doing at least. Let the others know how sorry he was about the fairy. That he was doing okay. 

Better than he had been, but they didn’t need to know that. 

Jack tilted his head up, soaking in the moonlight from above him, not feeling the urge to try to hide from Manny for once. The light hurt his eyes a little, but it was worth the sting to bask in it. 

The moon seemed to glow a little brighter in response, wrapping him up in a bright moonbeam. 

He wasn’t sure if he was up to seeing Tooth or North just yet, especially Tooth, but Sandy should be okay. Sandy was a pretty mellow guy. North could be a bit looming, and Tooth... He’d just gotten one of her fairies killed. He didn’t think he was ready to deal with her just yet. 

The sound of bells drew his attention away from his ruminations and looked around, spotting what looked like North’s sleigh flying through the night sky. Jack blinked, then rubbed an eye. It was hard to tell with the light, but it kind of looked like North’s sleigh was getting closer-?

Which made no sense, by this point on Christmas Eve, North should be on the other side of the world, in the middle of delivering presents. 

A slight buzz made him turn, just in time to get a mouthful of feathers as Tooth barrelled into him, wrapping her arms around him and holding tight. “Jack!” She exclaimed and he got a bit of a jolt at the _joy_ she was radiating. “Oh, it’s been so long!”

“Tooth?!” He gasped, hugged her back. “It’s only been a couple of years.” He mock scolded. 

“A couple of years?” Tooth pulled away, pressing her hands to his face with a look of concern on her face. “Jack, it’s almost been a **decade**.” 

“What?” He rocked at a second impact against his side, small hands latching on to him. He glanced down to find the small dream weaver wrapped around his waist “Sandy?!” A small laugh of shock and wonder escaping. 

Sandy smiled up at him and Jack knelt to give him a hug, Tooth clinging to his shoulders. “What are... What are you guys doing here?” Jack asked, pulling away, grabbing their hands and holding them at arm’s reach, previous thoughts forgotten. His chest hurt, too many emotions hitting him at once, seeing them here.

“We’re here to rescue you, Jack.” Tooth smiled broadly at him. There was something about the way she said it that set off alarm bells in the back of his head. The grim, almost desperate spark lurking in her eyes, as if she was going to battle and going to win, or die trying. 

“What?” His pulse picked up as panic set in, the world suddenly tilting around him as the meaning of her words sunk in. 

“You don’t have to worry about ever seeing Bunny again.” Tooth continued, patting his hand. “We’ve got it all worked out.” 

“Never...” Jack shook his head, pulling away in horror. They were going to _kidnap_ him, keep him away from Bunny.

Possibly worse. 

Bunny’s worst fear coming true, someone keeping Jack away from him. Jack had kind of laughed off Bunny’s paranoia, yet here he was. 

He couldn’t let them crush Bunny like that, not after he’d just let Jack go. It was up to Jack to protect Bunny. 

“NO!” He shouted, the wind whipping him away. North’s sled was dangerously close, all they had to do was grab him and open a Snow Globe, then Bunny would never find him. 

He had to get away, escape-

A wall of pressure slammed down on him, gluing his limbs together, forcing him down towards the earth. 

His Oath. He’d promised to never seek escape, but he’d never sworn who’d he never seek escape _from_. 

He hit a tree branch on the way down, momentarily stopping his descent and throwing his staff out of his hand. Jack watched it fall, the point of if it burying itself in the ground, the curved end sticking up. Snowdrops blossomed around it. 

Golden bands of sand wrapped around Jack’s prone body, picking him up, pulling him away from the earth. Jack watched as the snowdrops started to fall away, a dark tunnel opening up next to the staff. 

He could just make out a pair of ears poking up out of the rabbit hole, the Pooka checking up on him, no doubt wondering where Jack was if his staff was on the ground. “ _BUNNY!_ ” Jack screamed, unable to move as hands grabbed him, dragging him into North’s sleigh. 

A cloud of golden sand hit him in the face, sleep pulling him under, apologies fading on his lips.

* * *


	4. Freedom and the Future

* * *

Jack woke up with his head aching, everything too bright and blinding. 

He groaned, pressing his hand over his eyes, blocking the light out. It helped some, as did the coldness of his hand. He kept his eyes shut, waiting for the world to stop spinning and the pain to fade. 

It took what felt like an annoyingly long time. It could have been a couple of seconds, or a couple of hours for all he could tell. The wind whispered around him, trying to convince him to come and play and he ignored it. 

The sound of buzzing wings and high-pitched chirps let him know that he wasn’t alone, some of Tooth’s fairies were around. They seemed to hover just out of reach, just keeping an eye on him, but not getting close enough to touch. 

Probably a good idea, he felt like he’d scream if someone touched him right now. 

Jack eventually pulled his hand away, grimacing as even the light through his eyelids was too bright. He was going to need to invest in sunglasses or something, shade his eyes. He wondered if he could get the wind to fetch a pair for him.

He’d been worried that he wouldn’t be able to see well in the daylight, but had hoped that watching the sun rise and gradually adjusting to it would take care of the sensitivity to light. 

So much for that. 

Once the pain faded again, he risked opening his eyes, the light making his eyes water, which froze on the corners of his eyes, filtering the light. It made things a little bit more manageable, and eventually he was able to focus on the ceiling above him.

The tiled ceiling, in pinks and golds so bright it hurt his eyes after the greys and blacks of the underground, or the silver and blues of the nighttime. The noise of the fairies made sense, he was in Punjam Hy Loo, the Tooth Palace.

Where it was almost never night, due to the 24 hour nature of Tooth’s job. 

Right. 

With a groan, Jack sat up, closing his eyes as his head throbbed at the sudden movement. Ow. Definitely ow. If this was what a migraine was, he could have lived his entire afterlife without ever wanting to know. 

Once the world stopped moving again, he cracked open one eye, noting that he was in a small room, just large enough to maybe take three steps to cross it. It was like a bird cage, the walls made of gold filigree that allowed the light to stream in. 

It was enough to make Jack’s throat tighten in claustrophobia. He hated feeling trapped. The tunnels were one thing, he had miles and miles to explore, but this… He was in the air and couldn’t go anywhere. 

The usual curved open space for a door was blocked by straight bars of golden sand. Upon close inspection, the Dream Sand intertwined with the normal walls, reinforcing it. He wouldn’t be able to bust out with alerting Sandy and getting knocked out again. 

“I had more freedom before.” Jack muttered, pulling his hood up over his head to help with the light. He leaned against one wall, wondering what he was supposed to do now. 

“Jack!” The buzzing increased and Tooth appeared, floating next to the closed cell, the light catching and bouncing off of her vividly green and purple iridescent feathers. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’ve been better.” He admitted, trying not to sound bitter. “What is going on? You guys just... _kidnapped_ me.” 

“Well, yes.” Tooth agreed with a nod. “We figured it out, you swore that you wouldn’t seek escape, but there was nothing about someone taking you. So you’re free now!” 

Jack tapped the bars of the wall he was leaning against, the wind whistling through it. “Free, huh?” Free like a bird in a cage. 

“That’s for your own protection, so Bunny can’t drag you back.” Tooth said in reassuring manner. Which honestly, it really wasn’t reassuring at all. 

“Tooth...” Jack sighed, rubbing his head. “I’m not in any danger from Bunny.” Unless being constantly worried about and smothered in hugs counted.

Tooth made a pitying sound. “I know you think that, but Jack... You’re blue.”

“Huh?” He stared at her. That made no sense. 

“Your skin, Jack. It’s blue.” Tooth motioned towards him. “Pale blue.” 

“No it’s...” He faltered as he looked down at his hands. His usually pale fleshed toned hands. 

Which were still pale, but most definitely a powdery icy blue. “What?” Jack flexed his fingers. They felt normal. His hoodie could definitely use a wash though, the sleeves were practically black from ages spend running around underground. 

He checked his feet, which also could use a bath, his toes and soles completely black, fading out to pale blue ankles and calves. He pulled up his shirt, checking his belly and finding it the same shade of icy blue. 

It was the first time he’d looked at his skin in bright light, in the grey of the tunnels and the pale light from the stars, he couldn’t tell the difference. Same shade of pale, completely different hue. 

“Your hair and eyes are the same, it’s just your skin.” Tooth said, looking sad. “You’ve been infected.” 

“Infected?” Jack echoed, scoffing incredulously. “I’m not infected. Maybe need a bit of a bath, but that’s it.” 

Tooth gave him a pitying look, like it was a shame that he thought that. “We’ll talk later, Jack.” She said as she floated away, clearly dismissing him. Several fairies flew up to her and she directed them on their way, out into the world to collect teeth. 

Jack watched her go, and for once, wished he was back in the tunnels. 

At least Bunny was somewhat sane. 

… Now _that_ was a scary thought.

* * *

“Ah! Jack! How are ve doing today?” North boomed, jolting Jack out of the half doze he’d fallen into. It was really too warm in Punjam Hy Loo for him to be comfortable in, leaving him uncomfortably lethargic. Even the wind had settled down, realising that it wasn’t going to be able to coax him into flying while he was trapped inside a tiny space. 

It also didn’t help that his frost faded quickly in the flower scented air, although it did give him the means to wash his feet and hands a little bit. He still really needed a through scrubbing though. 

He shrugged in response to North’s question. “You?” 

“Better.” North said, running a hand through his beard. He looked tired, kind of worn out, Jack noted with some surprise. He hadn’t gotten a really good look at North before, when he’d been hauled into the sleigh. Even his bright red clothing seemed muted, faded. 

Jack tilted his head to the side. “Really?” 

North nodded, leaning against the cage wall with a mighty sigh. “Jack... You must understand. Things have not been... good, in your disappearance.” 

“There’s food again.” Jack pointed out. “Green things growing. I know, I saw them.” 

“Food yes, but no _joy_.” North said wearily. “Not since Bunny took you seven years ago.” 

“Seven-?” Jack stared at the toymaker. “It’s been barely three winters.” He said skeptically. The first year he froze himself solid, last year when Bunny first let him out to the surface, and the current year. 

North shook his head. “I do not know how time haz passed for you, but this spring vould make eight since ve have seen you last.” 

“But that’s not...” Jack trailed off, perplexed. Being underground wasn’t like being trapped with the fae, time didn’t pass any differently than it did on the surface. “I don’t understand.” 

North gave a weary sigh, tilting his head slightly to acknowledge Jack’s confusion. “When you vere taken... Nothing much changed at first. For months, it was the same as it had been.” 

“And then, leettle things. Plants began to grow. Not much, but enough to bring hope for surviving the winter.” 

Jack nodded. “I saw as much, with Bunny. Plants started growing in his footsteps again. Then the seasons changed. Winter came, and I...” He ran a hand over his hood, not dislodging it. “I lost control of my cold.” He admitted, still not proud of himself for that.

“You-?” One bushy eyebrow rose in concern. 

Jack shrugged a shoulder, not wanting to get into it. “I ended up freezing myself solid to keep the cold from hurting Bunny.” He summarised. 

He got a dismissive huff in response, as if that wasn’t something that Jack should have worried about. Jack narrowed his eyes in response, a spike of anger chilling him from the inside out. 

Bunny was their _friend_ , dammit. Bunny had been friends with the other Guardians longer than Jack had been a spirit. Suddenly it was like they didn’t even care about that, about Bunny at all. 

And Jack didn’t like it. 

“When I woke up, I thought it was that spring, but now I’m wondering if I was frozen for years instead of months?” Jack said slowly, watching North’s expression. 

“Perhaps.” North thoughtfully stroked his beard. “The first winter was mostly mild, as was ze spring. The next year... Winter storms went out of control. Ze wind howled like a mad thing, as if trying to find you.” 

Jack grimaced. 

“It settled down ze year after. Things did not improve, but they did not get better. Until two spring ago, suddenly ze plants!” North gestured wildly with his hands “They wake! Babes being born again. Life is better. There is food to eat. Plentiful, once more.”

North subsided, turning somber again. “Except ze children. There is no _spark_. No joy. No happiness. The children have things to eat, but they do not enjoy. They believe, but just. Our Joy is buried far beneath the surface, where ve cannot reach, trapped in darkness.” 

“Ve are fading, all of us. Children. Spirits. Everyone.” 

Jack swallowed, not knowing what to say to that. North shrugged in return, as if silently asking ‘what do you do?’. 

“So ve vait, and ve vatch. Ve never see the shadows move. No nightmares. No fear. But then!” North held up a finger. “Tooth’s fairies say dat they see you. No Bunny, just you.” 

“Bringing in winter.” Jack nodded. 

“Yes!” North threw his hands in the air. “Vich means you are not hidden all ze time. Tooth’s fairies, they keep eye out, they volunteer. To plant a leetle tiny tooth on you, so Toothy knows vhere you are.” 

“But-” Jack swallowed. “One of them-”

“-They knew risks.” North waved it off. “Dis... Dis is more important than lives. To bring Joy back to ze children. To bring Joy back to us.” North gestured expansively around the Tooth Palace. “Life should not be grey, there should be colour, and light! Ve vill bring it back.” 

The bad feeling Jack had gotten around Tooth was starting to intensify in the back of his head. “North...” Jack asked warily, shifting closer. “Why are you telling me all this?” 

North smiled at him. “So zat you understand vhen we destroy ze Darkness. Vhat we hope to accomplish.” 

Destroy the Darkness? Bunny was part of the Shadows now. Jack’s stomach lurched. “You’re talking about _killing_ Bunny!” 

“I am not so easy to pull ze wool over.” North tapped his forehead, looking pleased with himself. “Bunny does not play games in a fight. He taunts, yes, but his fighting is much more direct. That was not Bunny who captured us, that was Pitch.” 

“Yes...” Jack hesitantly agreed. “They were both occupying Bunny’s body at the time.” 

North nodded, like that was what he expected. “So ve will do vhat ve should have done a long time ago. And get rid of Pitch once and for all.” 

“But... Pitch is already gone.” Jack shook his head. “He’s been gone since I woke up out of the ice. It’s just Bunny in his body now.”

The large toymaker let out a heavy sigh, not sounding pleased to hear that. “That is... unfortunate.” He said gravely, shifting away from the cage. “Because that means that an old friend vas the one to create such misfortune.” 

With one last regretful shake of his head, North walked away. 

“Wait!” Jack stumbled and caught himself on the golden bars, reaching out to try to grab North. The wind whistled, carrying his words. “You don’t understand! _Bunny isn’t **Pitch**!_ ” 

North ignored him, disappearing into the maze of towers, the set of his shoulders proud and stubborn. Jack let his arm fall, leaning against the bars of the cage. 

They probably wouldn’t listen to anything he had to say, he realised with a nauseous, helpless feeling, remembering Tooth’s words about him being ‘tainted’. They most likely thought he’d been brainwashed by his time with Bunny, or something. 

Worse yet, Jack wasn’t just a prisoner here, he was bait. They knew that Bunny would go after them, that he would come for Jack. 

And the Guardians were counting on it.

* * *

Jack tried to apologise to the Fairies that zipped by, for being the cause of the death of one of them. 

He got an occasional rare chirp of acknowledgment in return, but mostly they buzzed past his cage and flew on. 

As if he didn’t even exist.

* * *

Sandy hovered outside the golden bars of the cage, peering in at him. From his seat at the back of the cage, Jack stared at him. “Is it worth trying to talk you out of it?” He asked, knowing it wasn’t likely, but needing to ask anyway. 

The wind had carried North and Tooth’s conversations about him to Jack’s ears. They used words like ‘Infected’, ‘Tainted’, and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ when talking about him. 

Instead of talking _with_ him. 

The Sandman glanced over at where Tooth and North most likely were, then shook his head, with an apologetic shrug. 

“Right.” Jack nodded, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to lean against the wall, the perfect picture of resigned calm. 

He’d tried screaming, begging and pleading for them to listen to him. Finally he’d stopped, the feeling of of being trapped and alone sending him into a panic. The realisation that they didn’t even need the cage, with his oath he couldn’t flee even if he wanted to had left him feeling bitter. 

And from the bitterness, rage. Umbridge that they’d trapped him like this, in a tiny space, then left him alone. _Ignored_ him. Again. Just like they had for the first 300 years of Jack Frost’s afterlife. 

Anger was a sharp cold brittle feeling in the center of his chest. 

It was better than the all pervading grey numbness he’d felt before, so he held on his anger, used it to keep him going, to focus his thoughts, to make battle plans. To save them all. 

Even with his warnings, he could tell they were anticipating fighting against Pitch, not Bunny in full out feral mode. Bunny was going to eat them alive. 

-If the Guardians didn’t kill Bunny first. 

Jack both feared and anticipated Bunny’s arrival.

* * *

When it happened, it started so fast that it took Jack a moment to realise what was going on. He could hear Tooth’s screams, North’s shouts and the furious primal roar of a pissed off Pooka. 

And he was stuck in a freaking bird cage. He gripped the bars, straining to see what was going on. The wind twisted and howled around him as if sensing his anxiety, eager as he was to be moving. He couldn’t see anyone, merely the occasional cast shadow and the mass of Tooth’s fairies moving. 

“BUNNY!” Jack shouted, the wind grabbing his words and carrying them to his friend. “UP HERE!” 

He got a noise in return that might have been his name, if screamed by a tiger. A second later, something whistled through the air, the wind carrying something with it as it returned to him at gale force. Jack held an arm up his face to shield his eyes, then jumped as something slammed into the cage. 

Jack opened his eyes a crack to find his staff pressed against the door, the wind holding it there. 

“Yes!” He leapt forward, grabbing his staff, ice immediately blooming under his fingertips. “Thank you!” 

With the staff to focus his chill, the warmer weather couldn’t melt it away. He blasted the walls of the cage he was in, freezing the sand, trapping it and preventing it from shifting to block his exit, because Sandy was tricky like that. 

But ice was _Jack’s_ element, and he knew its strengths and weaknesses. He kicked at a narrow section of the bars with the heel of his foot, making it crack, then statter, leaving a gap just barely big enough to wiggle through, which he wasted no time in doing. 

“Wind!” He called as he blindly jumped, taking in what was happening in one sweeping glance. Sandy was attempting to herd Bunny towards North, who was up on a ledge, where Bunny couldn’t sense him through the ground. Above Sandy was Tooth and her army of fairies, all of them grim faced and ready to attack. 

Bunny howled and snapped blindly at the golden bands that smacked the ground near him, his fur sticking on end, making him look large and spiky. Jack saw North shift, adjusting his grip on his swords, getting ready to jump on top of Bunny, sever his head off in one motion. 

“NO!” Jack shouted, the wind grabbing him and launching him towards Bunny at high speed. He twisted at the last moment, turning so his feet and legs took the impact as he crashed into Bunny’s solid side, kicking Bunny away from all the Guardians. 

Jack ricocheted off of Bunny, launching himself back up into the air, above the Guardians’, his staff raised high above his head. “This Ends-” He crashed downwards, striking his staff against the ground, his rage sending snow and ice swirling around him in a miniature cyclone of cold fury. “- _NOW_.”

When the wind settled down, there was a spiky waist-high wall of ice in a large wide circle around him, leaving Bunny on side and the Guardians on the other, all of them staring silently at him. He glared at everyone, silently daring them to make a move, any move. 

Bunny was the first to move, taking a hesitant step forward, but Tooth was the first to speak. “Jack-”

“No.” He said firmly, pointing a finger at her, then directed his next words towards Bunny. “You too, Bunny.”

Bunny made a noise that was sort of like a cross between a growl and a whimper, obviously wanting to check Jack over. Which Jack couldn’t allow, as soon as Bunny got his paws on Jack, he knew they’d be back underground before Jack could blink. 

He kept his staff trained on the Guardians however, warily watching as North shifted to move next to Tooth and Sandy. He trusted Bunny at his back right now more than them. 

“Vhat are you doing?” North asked, his tone wary as he stayed where he was. 

“Re-negotiating.” Jack smiled, thin and tight. “See, the thing is, you Guardians are right. There is something wrong.” 

North, Tooth, and Sandy all straightened slightly, surprise crossing their faces. 

Jack had had a fair amount time to sit and think while waiting for Bunny to appear. About what was going on, and what he needed to do to start fixing it. What he wanted for himself. 

“Christmas is one of the most joyful days of the year, but I didn’t get anything off of it. It might as well been Flag Day for all the Joy it brought.” Jack shrugged. “And the thing is, I don’t know if it’s my lack of good cheer affecting them, or if the kids have been fueling my melancholy.” 

Guardian bonds were tricky things. He wasn’t even sure if any children still believed in him, he’d been that isolated. 

“Bunny-” Jack’s tone softened as he glanced towards Bunny, who sank back on his haunches, his expression falling. “You told me to do what’s right for me. So need you to do something for me.” 

Bunny nodded, looking resigned, as if he knew what Jack was about to ask for. “I release ya, Jack Frost.” He said, his voice soft. “From yer Oath.” 

Jack could feel the magic around him dissipate the bonds that kept him from escaping everyone at the words, lifting him up above the ground for a second before setting him back down.

“I didn’t...” Jack reeled in shock, both that Bunny would just do that without any warning, and at how _light_ he felt. It was like a burden he hadn’t been aware of had been removed. He wanted to turn and really look at Bunny but didn’t trust the Guardians not to rush them the second he took his eyes off them. 

“I shoulda done that a long time ago.” Bunny cut Jack’s stammering off, his tone dark with self-loathing. “Back when I first realised what the lack o’ interaction was doin’ ta ya.” 

“Thanks.” Jack said reverently, pressing a hand to his chest. What ever else, now he could flee now if he needed to. They couldn’t trap him again like they had, not without a fight. It was an unexpected gift, and one he greatly appreciated. “-But that wasn’t what I was going to ask.” 

The noise Bunny made might have been comical under different circumstances. It was mirrored by North and Tooth. 

“-I was going to ask you to trust me.” Jack added. 

“Oh.” Bunny’s head tilted to the side. “... Then can I take that back-?”

“ _No_.” North and Jack chorused, North far more vehemently than Jack.

Bunny made an annoyed grumble in the back of his throat, his claws scraping across the ice. “Wotcha need?” 

Jack glared defiantly at the Guardians, even as he held a hand out towards Bunny, shifting his stance slightly so Bunny could sense it. “I need a pomegranate.” 

They all made confused noises, North and Sandy trading a confused look. Behind him, he could hear the rustling of something growing quickly from the earth. 

“Pomegranate?” Tooth echoed quietly, then she gasped, her eyes went round. “Persephone!” 

“Vhat?” North questioned. 

“Catch.” Bunny called. Jack turned his head, glancing back in time to spot the dark red fruit, almost black, flying through the air. The wind howled around him, Jack had enough time to grab the fruit from the air before turning back to find the wind batting Tooth’s fairies back to the other side of his barricade.

“Jack! Don’t!” Tooth pleaded. “We just got you away from him! You don’t have to go back!” 

“No. That’s EXACTLY why I’m doing it.” Jack snarled, resting his staff against his shoulder, ripping the fruit in half, bright red fluid dripping down his hands, staining them crimson. He plucked out a handful of seeds and held them up in the Guardian’s direction, defiant. 

“This is MY Will! And MY **Choice!** ” He spat, tossing the unused fruit to the ground, sending juice and bits scattering across the ice at his feet. “Something that _none_ of you took into consideration!” 

Tooth had the grace to flinch, but North and Sandy just looked confused at his actions. 

“Six seeds.” Jack said deliberately, so there would be no mistaking what he was doing. “One for each month. Six above ground, six below.” 

He could hear Bunny’s gasp behind him as they all clued into what he was saying. North stepped forward, a hand outstretched as if to stop Jack. Jack quickly shoved one of the handful of seeds into his mouth, biting down on the sweet-tart seeds, the juice bursting on his tongue. 

For a moment, it tasted coppery-sweet like blood, the seeds crunching in his teeth like tiny bones, then he swallowed them down. 

He’d never eaten anything Bunny had grown before, not even when Bunny was still light. There was power and magic tied up with Bunny’s plants, and by eating them, he’d taken it and made it a part of himself. Binding himself to the Pooka. 

“Jack…” Bunny whispered behind him, his voice shaking slightly in awe and Jack couldn’t help the fond smile that stretched across his face. 

“We were going to re-negotiate when I got back after Christmas anyway.” He commented, and Bunny laughed, full of dark humour. 

“... Vhat?” North whispered. 

“I tried telling you.” Jack shrugged one negligent shoulder. “If you’d just _listened_ to me after you grabbed me, everything would have worked itself out in a few days.” 

“-But you **used** the Oath I took to _save_ you against me, locked me up in a tiny cage, ignored me, and called me ‘ _Tainted_ ’.” Jack bared his teeth in a feral snarl, his grip tightening on his staff as the temperature plummeted around him. “At least when Bunny was desperate and grabbed me cause he needed help, he offered me a choice! Not a very good one, but a _CHOICE_ .” 

“... Jack…” Bunny whispered. “Don’t make it sound better than it was.” 

“I’m not.” Jack growled, reigning in his temper. “But the Guardians are supposed to be the Good Guys. And that wasn’t good at _all_.” 

Which was why when the chance presented himself, he’d chosen freedom _and_ Bunny. He’d taken a third path, one that presented the things he needed, putting himself first for a change. 

Even after everything, he couldn’t leave Bunny alone down there. A little bit of it was the guilt, but more of it was the fact that even after everything, the darkness and the isolation, Bunny was still his friend. And Jack wouldn’t abandon him. 

The whole situation reminded him a little bit too much of the first time he’d ever been inside North’s Workshop after being shoved in a bag and tossed through a magic portal. He hadn’t wanted to be a Guardian then, and the dismissive reply of ‘Of course you do’ when he’d protested. 

He loved the Guardians, he loved his friends, his family, but he didn’t need them to make his choices for him. 

And really, that was what it boiled down to. 

Jack took a deep breath and let it out. “I love you guys, but I’ll see you later.” He said resolutely. “I don’t know how much later, but _later_. Bunny, I’ll see you in the Spring.” 

“Jack…” Tooth whimpered, stretching one hand out towards him. He turned away, letting the wind tug him upwards. He couldn’t… He couldn’t _talk_ to them right now. Not right now, when he was so tangled up inside. 

“See ya then.” Bunny acknowledged, his voice muted. Jack had to fight the impulse to go to Bunny, check on him and fought it down. He needed… Jack needed to take care of himself first. Spring was only a few months away, Bunny would be okay. 

“Yeah.” Jack nodded, letting the wind pull him upwards. “Hope is stronger than Fear, right?” 

He didn’t hear Bunny’s reply, the wind pulling him away before anyone could follow after him.

* * *

Jack flew for ages, loop-de-loops, barrel rolls, flying as high and as fast as the wind could take him before plummeting back down to earth, only to turn away at the last second. He pulled out all the tricks that he’d forgotten, flying until the wind was lagging and he was exhausted. 

He perched on the top of the tallest tree that he could, just sitting there, catching his breath. He couldn’t believe that they had… That the Guardians… Bunny…. 

Jack clenched his fist, still stained crimson with pomegranate juice, pounding it against his thigh, resisting the urge to scream. He took several deep breaths instead, trying to calm down and keep from doing anything rash. 

… Well, more rash. 

The wind whistled, drawing his attention from his inner turmoil to the east, to where the sky was starting to lighten. 

Sunrise. 

He’d wanted to see one, before… 

Jack quickly changed that train of thought, turning his attention outward, to the changes in the sky. The fading lavender, the soft pinks, the gentle yellows.

His heart beat loudly in his chest as he realised how much he’d forgotten. Forgotten the quiet joy of experiencing something beautiful. 

Then sun crested the hills, the first bright golden sunbeam landing on him and he recoiled, falling backwards off his perch. He flailed, grabbing at leaves, before landing face first on a large branch and clung to it, his arms and legs wrapped around it. 

He paused a moment, then started giggling. Tree branches. He _looooved_ tree branches. They were his new best friend for ever and ever. 

It took a while for his giggles to stop, by which time the sun had completely risen, casting light across the forest he was in. From the shelter of the trees, he stared up at the blue sky, realising that his eyes didn’t hurt so much, here in the shade. 

Seven and a half years of being in darkness had left its mark. The Guardians were right, he wasn’t wholly of the light anymore.

For a moment, Jack wanted to dive down to the ground and demand that Bunny let him back underground, back in the shadows and the tunnels that had become so familiar to him. Away from strangely too open spaces and the light that burned. 

He couldn’t. Not right now. He needed to remember who _he_ was, who Jack Frost was, before he went back underground.

Jack Frost… Was snowballs and fun times. Ice skating and laughter. Jack Frost had survived 300 years of being invisible, he was a mischief maker, trouble maker, a fighter... 

And a Guardian. A Guardian of Childhood. 

North had said there was something wrong with the kids. Tooth and Sandy passed their gifts to the kids every night, but they didn’t really have any contact with them, and North only dealt with them one night a year. 

Jack was usually the one on the ground, interacting with the children, getting up close and dealing with them. If anyone was going to find out what was going with them, he was the most likely. 

But first… “Hey Wind?” He called, sitting upright. “Could you help me find a pair of sunglasses for my eyes?”

One of the advantages of hanging out with kids was that they were forever forgetting stuff and leaving it laying around….

* * *

The first group of kids that Jack approached taught him two very important things, very quickly. 

One, children could see him. The name Jack Frost hadn’t been forgotten. 

And Two, he really, really needed a bath. Children screaming at the sight of a ‘Zombie’ kind of clued him into that. When two of the younger kids charged at him, intent on gnawing his kneecaps off, he called the wind to take him away. 

That was NOT the impression he meant to make.

The wind took him back to Burgess, where it was still night. The sight of his old familiar home settled something inside of him, and he landed gratefully next to his lake, breathing in the smell of pine and snow. 

He sat down on a patch of snow, reaching down and pulling off his hoodie, taking off the sunglasses to get a good look at it in light that he could actually see by. It was pretty much a lost cause, even washing wouldn’t get the ground out dirt that had dyed the blue material black, and the holes that he hadn’t noticed or cared about were beyond his repair. His trousers were a little better. 

And he still had red pomegranate juice all over his hands.

No wonder the kids had screamed. He was going to need new clothes. Really, he needed to get himself in order before he tried to take care of anyone else. 

The snow shifted slightly next to him, the tip of a green snowdrop stalk sticking slightly out of the snow. Bunny, checking up on him. 

Jack swallowed, clenching one hand, the idea of seeing Bunny made his guts twist. As much as the lure of the familiarity of the tunnels below beckoned to him, he wasn’t ready to deal with Bunny right now. 

He couldn’t handle being bound up in one of Bunny’s hugs right now, the closeness, the confines. The thought made him want to scream. 

“Not yet.” He said quietly, putting his hand next to the stalk. “Please. Not now.” 

The stalk seemed to nod, then slowly retract back into the snow. 

A stray thought hit and Jack licked his lips. “Wait.” He said quickly. “Could you send a few shadow eggs up for me?” 

The snowdrop grew in response, opening a hole in the snow. A half-dozen shadowy eggs floated up out of space the snowdrop made, drifting curiously around Jack’s head. 

“Thanks.” Jack smiled, reaching up and poking one with his finger. It bobbed slightly at his touch, then continued on its spiralling path. “I need to take a bath, and would feel better about having someone keeping an eye out, incase anyone approaches.” 

The eggs couldn’t do much to protect him, but they could warn him if anyone got close, give him time to fight or escape. And they’d be less likely to wander off than the wind. 

Jack was never going to be caught and trapped again like that. Ever. 

The black eggs swirled around him, then soared upwards, trailing shadows behind them. He watched them dart in and out of the trees, making a large protective circle around him. The wind teased them, playfully ruffling their shadowy tendrils and sending the eggs wobbling. 

“Thanks, Bunny.” He said, leaning over to unwrap the bindings around his legs so he could take his trousers off. The snowdrop grew happy tiny white buds in response, making him smile. Just because he wasn’t ready to see Bunny didn’t mean Jack was angry or hated him. 

Jack leaned his staff against a tree and stood up to take his trousers off. He paused with his hands on his belt buckle. “No peeking, Bunnymund.” 

The snowdrop wilted slightly, then disappeared back underground.

* * *

When he got back to shore from washing himself and his trousers, there was a shadow egg sitting on a white button down shirt. The shirt had clearly seen better times, but was fairly clean and better than the tattered remains of of his hoodie. 

“Thanks.” Jack said as he picked up the shirt, uncertain if the wind or Bunny had bought it. He felt a stab of annoyance towards North, who usually laughingly tried to convince Jack to change his clothes out of his ratty old hoodie. The one time Jack could have used new or clean clothes, North had taken it as proof of Jack’s lack of ‘purity’. 

He put the shirt on, finding it a bit small so he left the top couple of buttons undone and rolled up the sleeves to his elbows, checking his range of motion. Good enough. Previously, the white fabric would have blended in with his pale skin, but now it was a not unpleasant contrast to his pale blue skin. 

Which was in fact a uniform blue, all the way down. He wasn’t sure what he felt about that. At least his skin still felt like skin and nothing had fallen off. 

Jack couldn’t find the sunglasses, and he shrugged to himself. He’d find another pair later, it wasn’t as if lost glasses were uncommon. He took to the air with a cheer, the shadow eggs trailing behind him. 

It was amazing how much better he felt after a bath and fresh clothes. He felt a lot more like himself, like Jack Frost the Guardian of Fun and Joy, than he had in a long time. 

And he had some kids to check on.

* * *

At first, Jack was confused. Based off of North’s explanation, he’d expected to find child-sized zombies wandering around on the streets, drained of joy and good cheer. 

Instead, he found kids being… kids. 

Laughing, joking, talking, crying, playing, reading, climbing, getting themselves into mischief and generally exploring the world. The same as they had been before he’d gone underground. 

Things… really hadn’t changed much. 

If anything, the younger kids seemed bolder than he remembered. The older children seemed to think so as well. Jack had to act quickly to save a couple who seemed to have absolutely no fear, climbing trees that couldn’t hold their weight, hanging way over ravines, dashing into the street into oncoming traffic. 

There were a couple that he couldn’t save, only mourn the aftermath. Especially since children were still so incredibly rare. There would be more kids in the future, but right now there were so few. 

The thing Jack liked about children is that they were always a bit reckless, but they were pushing boundaries that even he was uncomfortable with. 

Some of the kids could see him, some of them couldn’t, but the phrase ‘Jack Frost ‘quickly went around with any group of playing children, regaining him followers and believers, but it felt… different. More muted somehow. 

Even his Fun-filled snowflakes didn’t have the same reaction as they used to. They worked best on the kids who knew his name without being told, bringing smiles and laughter, but it didn’t bring the shrieking laughter and incandescent grins it used to. 

It was like experiencing the kids in greyscale after being used to them in bright vivid colour. Everything was still there, just… less. 

Which was probably what set North off. 

Peering into windows, watching the adults gave him more clues. Toothiana’s fairies were still buzzing around, delivering coins in exchange for teeth, but they only seemed to get the youngest of kids. There were an awful lot of parents sneaking into their children’s rooms to collect teeth. 

He wondered if he hadn’t been kidnapped on Christmas Eve, if he would have seen adults putting presents under the tree, signed ‘Santa Claus’. 

Which would explain the free time North had to grab him on North’s busy day. 

People didn’t believe in them the same way they had. As protectors of the light, of the children. 

It wasn’t until he overheard a conversation that gave him the piece of the puzzle he was missing. A group of adults had gathered around a fireplace with some wine to talk about their lives and their kids, _adult_ time. It was just warm enough that someone had left a window open, their words spilling out to Jack’s ears. 

That their small children weren’t afraid of the dark. 

That had opened up a conversation, grandparents and parents and new parents. Children who were born before Bunny… Ate Pitch... had grown up afraid of the dark, needing nightlights and midnight cuddles of reassurance. 

Those who were born after were not. They ventured out into the darkness, completely fearless of what it might contain. 

Being afraid of the dark was one of human’s most primal fears. 

Jack shivered, realising that he’d noticed the pattern when playing with the kids. The older ones always herded the younger ones back when the sun set. The younger ones always complained and he’d figured it was that they wanted to play more, not that they didn’t understand what the older ones were trying to protect them from. 

Even if there was nothing to protect them from. 

Jack sat down hard as he realised what had happened. 

Why did you need protectors from the things you feared, when there was nothing left to fear?

* * *

Jack smiled as the shadows moved. “Hey, Bunny.” He said quietly, from his seat on the ground, surrounded by a small forest of snowdrops that had slowly sprouted around around him as he sat, enjoying the sunset. 

The flowers hadn’t sprung up every time he’d touched the ground, just every so often, Bunny’s silent way of saying hello and checking up on him. After the first panic inducing time, Jack hadn’t minded their appearance. 

It wasn’t quite time for Jack to go back underground, although the resurgence in plant life marked the time as very soon. However, it the first time Jack had requested Bunny’s presence since he’d fled Punjam Hy Loo, leaving Bunny and the Guardians behind. 

He’d missed his friend more than he was willing to admit. 

The shadows shifted, Bunny’s dark form gliding out, pale blind eyes stared unseeing at Jack. It might have been a bit cruel of him to summon Bunny while it was still light, but Jack wanted to be able to see him, really see him for a change, made up of fur and flesh, not just shadows and night. 

The former Avatar of Spring looked a little ragged around the edges, he hadn’t been taking as good care of himself as he should have been. He looked stressed, and Jack knew that was his doing. 

Jack stood up, using his staff to help him up before opening his arms wride. “Hugs?” Jack offered. 

Bunny pounced. The Pooka misjudged by a few inches, earning Jack an accidental paw in the stomach, but that didn’t stop Jack from wrapping his arms around Bunny and hugging back just as tight as Bunny hugged him. He giggled as Bunny’s nose and whiskers tickled, checking Jack over for any injuries, like he had when Jack had first gone underground. 

After a few minutes, Bunny settled down, cuddling Jack in his lap, his face pressed against the side of Jack’s neck. “I’m fine, Bunny.” Jack reassured him, reaching an arm around Bunny’s neck to gently scratch the back of Bunny’s head. 

Bunny would probably be clingy for the next while. Which was fine with Jack, he could use the reassurance too. 

Bunny let out a soft rumble, as close to a purr as he could get and Jack relaxed into Bunny’s warmth. He’d missed this, the physical contact, but at the same time, he’d needed his space. “Thank you.” He said quietly. “For giving me time.” 

Bunny went quiet, then nodded. “Welcome.” He rumbled, his grip tightening on Jack, the slightest tremble in his hands belying how much it had cost him. 

Jack said nothing, letting Bunny hold him as he watched the sunset. Not his last one, but probably the last one he’d see for a bit. He had a feeling they’d be busy for a while. 

And living above ground for six months of the year and below ground the other half the year didn’t mean that he couldn’t visit the other. Which meant that he could check in on Bunny during the winter, or pop up for an hour to catch a sunset during the summer. Which would be nice. 

It gave him some control over his life. 

“Oh!” A stray thought hit Jack as the stars started to come out. He wiggled, getting an arm free so he could get to his hip. “Here. Put these on.” 

He passed Bunny a pair of darkly tinted goggles. He’d adjusted them so not only could the head strap could be adjusted, but the nose strap as well, to fit Bunny’s wider head. He had his own pair of dark goggles pushed up on his forehead. Sunglasses got lost too easily, especially while flying, but the goggles stayed easily on his head or around his neck when he wasn’t wearing them. 

And they were kinda cool, in a retro steampunk sort of way. 

He had to turn and straddle Bunny’s lap to help the Pooka put them on. They looked kind of silly on Bunny, making him look ridiculously bug-eyed. But it was worth it when Bunny made a sort of quiet ‘Oh’ noise when the goggles finally fit properly, blocking and filtering out the light. Bunny reached out and tracing the curve of Jack’s jaw with one paw, able to see finally see him too. 

Jack caught Bunny’s hand with his own, pressing it to his face to the smooth pads as he smiled. “Hey.” 

“Hi.” Bunny rumbled, sounding pleased. “Ya look more like yerself.” 

Jack ducked his head. “Thanks.” He felt more like himself. He needed open air, the freedom, the skies, playtimes, and people. These things were a part of him.

So was Bunny. But Jack chose Bunny to come back to. Because when it came down to it, Bunny chose him too.

Which wasn’t a bad thing. 

"How are you doing?" Jack asked, releasing Bunny’s hand to mimic the motion, fingers carding through the fur on Bunny's cheeks.

Bunny took a deep breath, turning his head a bit to nuzzle at Jack's hand. "Better now." he said bluntly. "Was worried about ya."

"I'm sorry." Jack whispered, feeling guilty. "I-"

A finger against his lips silenced his objection. "Ya did what ya needed to. Did what is best for ya. I'm proud of ya for that.” Bunny gave him a smile, bumping his nose against Jack’s. “Yeah, it’s bit harder fer me when you're not there, but it's not beyond what I can deal with. And that’s thanks to ya.”

In other words, Bunny could live with the arrangement. Bunny saved Jack, Jack saved Bunny, that’s what they did for each other. What they’d always done for each other. 

Jack took a deep breath and nodded, letting himself relax. Things would never be the way they had before, but that didn’t mean it was bad. 

“I need to talk to the other Guardians.” Jack said carefully. Bunny’s grip on Jack tightening momentarily before relaxing. “But I wanted to talk it over with you first.” 

“Talk to them about about _what_?” Bunny inquired, obviously striving for calm, but there was a definite growl to his voice that gave away his irritation. 

Jack tried to bite back a grin and failed. As stealthy as Bunny could be, ‘subtly’ had never really been in his vocabulary. “The kids.” 

That caught Bunny’s attention, the growl fading away. “What about the kids?” He asked, voice concerned as he brows came down, looking faintly puzzled, then hesitant, as if afraid that it was something he had done. “Back at Tooth’s… You mentioned something about not being able to feel them-?”

Jack shook his head. “It’s muted.” He said, resuming petting Bunny’s head, partly for reassurance, partly because it felt good. “I know you couldn’t see the others, but they didn’t look very good.”

“And ya figured out why.” Bunny leaned into Jack’s touch. 

“Yeah. It’s…. Well.” He sighed. “How is easy is it to see a candle's glow in daylight?” 

Bunny pulled back slightly, giving him a confused look. “Not… very.” He said slowly, as if trying to figure out where Jack was going with this. 

“Same with a spotting a shadow at night.” Jack extrapolated. 

The confused look slowly cleared. “Too much light.” Bunny breathed. “Ya need the darkness ta define the light, and vice versa.” 

Jack nodded. It was similar and yet a reverse of when he had first joined the Guardians, Pitch taking over the world with his shadows. Too much darkness, the children faded. Too much light, the children faded. 

“You’ve been keeping the Shadows and Fear locked away.” Jack said as reassuringly as he could. “It hasn’t hurt the kids, but it’s not helping them either.” 

The brightest and the boldest were kind of killing themselves off, too fearless to think about it. Bunny had been trying too hard to be _good_ that it had kind of backfired. 

Not that Jack would tell Bunny that. He’d save that bit for the other Guardians, if they tried to go after Bunny again. Jack was half afraid that this would break Bunny as it was. Millions of years, trying to protect the light, to keep Pitch, to keep the fear at bay, and now this. 

Jack may not have been entirely of the light anymore, but he didn’t belong entirely to the darkness either. He kind of wondered if he wasn’t like the children currently, a sort of grey, neutral area. Keeping the balance between Bunny and the Guardians, and between the children and all the Guardians. 

Bunny gave Jack a sort of look that said he knew that Jack was keeping something from him, but wasn’t going to push it. “Whaddya suggest?” He asked, nudging at Jack’s hand on his cheek. 

“The way I see it, we’ve got two choices.” Jack shrugged. “We can let go of the kids, let them find their own paths and we fade away.” It wouldn’t be instantaneous, it would take a long time for the belief in them to fade out entirely, before their existence ended. 

With Jack and Bunny tied to the elements of Winter and Spring, it’d probably take them longer than the others. 

“Or I can become the new Boogieman.” Bunny said lowly. 

Jack shook his head. “Or we change our myths, and work with the other Guardians to rekindle the balance between Light and Shadows again.” 

‘Dark’ didn’t necessarily mean ‘Evil’. Just like Summer's growing time faded to Winter’s sleep, the light needed a rest sometimes too. 

Or so Jack hoped. 

Otherwise it meant that they would be scaring the kids just so that the Guardians had a purpose for existing. Which was just as bad as Pitch in it’s own way, using the kids for their own gain. 

Bunny sighed, his brows coming down again as he mulled over Jack’s words for a long moment. Jack said nothing, letting Bunny think it over. 

The goggles really did look silly on him. But maybe Jack could convince Bunny to come up to the surface some nights to show him what he was talking about, and to play in the moonlight. Share his world for a bit. 

That, at least, wasn’t dependent on what any of them chose. 

“I think…” Bunny finally said with a heavy sigh. “We need ta talk ta the Guardians.” 

-fin-

**Author's Note:**

> Notes:
> 
> Jack having blue skin comes from some of [his early concept art](http://rotg-art.tumblr.com/post/47117026261/roseeclipse-shane-prigmore-on-creating-jack)
> 
>  
> 
> Plant Symbolism:  
> Cypress - Death, mourning, despair, sorrow.  
> Asphodel - My regrets follow you into the grave. The shades of average people whose work was done were thought to rest in Meadows of Asphodel in the Greek Underworld.  
> Rue - Regret, Sorrow, Repentance  
> Snowdrops - Hope  
> In ancient greek, Pomegranate is also known as ‘The Fruit of the Dead’.


End file.
